Charlie Kim is a name that usually triggers one of two reactions. For the culture geeks and HR gurus, he’s the visionary behind Next Jump, the guy who famously promised "lifetime employment" and tried to turn a corporate office into a psychological gym. But if you’ve been following the news lately, specifically the legal drama involving a four-star admiral and federal indictments, that reputation has taken a massive, complicated hit.
It’s a wild story. Honestly, it's the kind of saga that makes "disruptive leadership" look like a child’s game.
We’re talking about a company that survived the dot-com crash with only four employees left, scaled back up to handle rewards for 70% of the Fortune 1000, and then found its leadership in handcuffs over a bribery scandal involving the U.S. Navy.
How did we get here?
The Myth of the Un-firable Employee
Next Jump wasn't just another e-commerce platform. While their "Perks at Work" business made money by letting employees at big firms buy discounted TVs and travel, Charlie Kim’s real obsession was human capital engineering.
He wanted to prove that if you stop firing people for poor performance and start coaching them like Olympic athletes, you'll win. He called it being a Deliberately Developmental Organization (DDO).
Better Me + Better You = Better Us
That was the mantra. The idea was simple: if I work on my "backhand"—my personal flaws, my ego, my tendency to hide mistakes—and I help you work on yours, the whole company gets 10x better.
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- The No-Fire Policy: This was the big one. Simon Sinek even raved about it. Charlie Kim argued that firing someone for a performance dip is like a parent disowning a child for a bad grade.
- The 10x Factor: Inspired by The X Factor, employees would compete in high-stakes presentations, getting judged on their character and growth rather than just their revenue numbers.
- The Talking Partners: Every employee had a partner they’d meet with daily to "de-swamp" their brains. It was basically mandatory therapy for the sake of the bottom line.
For years, this worked. Harvard Business Review studied them. The CIA and the Air Force sent people to their "Leadership Academy" in Chelsea to learn how to build high-trust cultures. They were the darlings of the "meaningful work" movement.
When the "Better Us" Philosophy Met the U.S. Navy
The narrative shifted dramatically in May 2024. Charlie Kim and his Co-CEO, Meghan Messenger, were arrested.
The allegations? A classic bribery scheme involving Admiral Robert P. Burke, who was the Navy's second-highest-ranking officer.
According to federal prosecutors, the deal was relatively straightforward but incredibly messy. Kim and Messenger allegedly agreed to give Burke a high-paying job at Next Jump—roughly $500,000 a year plus stock options—in exchange for him steering a Navy contract their way.
The Numbers and the Fallout
We aren't talking about a massive contract, either. The initial deal was for a $355,000 pilot program to provide workforce training for Navy personnel in Italy and Spain.
The irony is thick here. A company built on the pillar of "Humility" and "Character" was now accused of "slimy" dealings. In fact, internal WhatsApp messages surfaced where Messenger allegedly admitted she "felt slimy" about the arrangement with Burke.
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In May 2025, Admiral Burke was convicted. In September 2025, he was sentenced to six years in prison.
As for Charlie Kim and Meghan Messenger, their path hasn't been as clear-cut. Their first trial ended in a mistrial in September 2025. The defense argued they were actually deceived by Burke and that the $100 million contract they were actually hoping for never even happened.
Is Next Jump Still Around in 2026?
Surprisingly, yes.
Despite the headlines, the company is still running events and managing its perks platform. If you look at their 2026 calendar, they are still hosting "Learning Breakfasts" in London and "Connection Labs" in New York.
It’s a weird paradox. You have a business that continues to preach transparency and personal growth while its founder is fighting for his professional life in a federal courtroom.
The Current Reality
- Operations: They are still very much active. The "Perks at Work" site still services millions of users.
- The Culture: The "DDO" model is still being taught, though the "Leadership Academy" has definitely lost some of its shine given the legal context.
- Legal Status: Following the 2025 mistrial, the case remains a massive shadow over the company's future.
What Leaders Can Actually Learn from the Charlie Kim Saga
You can't talk about Charlie Kim Next Jump without acknowledging the nuance. It isn't just a "good guy gone bad" story. It’s a lesson in the dangers of "founder's syndrome" and the thin line between a high-performance culture and a cult of personality.
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1. Culture is a Shield, Not an Excuse
Just because you have a "no-fire policy" doesn't mean you're immune to the ethical lapses that happen in traditional corporate environments. If anything, a high-intensity culture can create blind spots where leaders feel their "mission" justifies cutting corners.
2. Radical Transparency is Hard to Maintain
Next Jump preached "LHF" (no Lying, Hiding, or Faking). Yet, the Navy scandal was built on alleged omissions and misleading statements to military officials. It shows that even the most "transparent" systems can fail at the top.
3. The Model is Still Fascinating
Legal issues aside, the everyone culture model is still a valid critique of how most companies treat people like disposable assets. The idea of investing 50% of your time in "growing" your people is radical. It’s just that the execution requires extreme ethical guardrails that perhaps weren't in place.
How to Apply "Next Jump" Thinking (Without the Risks)
If you're a manager looking at the Charlie Kim model, you don't need to adopt a "lifetime employment" policy to get results. You can start smaller.
- Feedback Loops: Create a culture where people can give "live" feedback. At Next Jump, they used a "Feedback Lab" app. You can just use a regular meeting where the boss isn't the only one talking.
- Focus on Character: Hire for humility. Most people hire for skills and fire for character. Flip that.
- The 10x Mindset: Encourage people to work on their "inner" selves. If someone is a great coder but a terrible communicator, that communication gap is their biggest bottleneck to success.
The story of Next Jump is still being written. Whether Charlie Kim will be remembered as a pioneer of workplace psychology or a cautionary tale of corporate overreach is still up for debate. But for now, the company remains a living experiment in what happens when you try to change the world—and get caught in the machinery of it.
Actionable Next Steps:
- Review your hiring process: Identify if you are actually testing for "coachability" and "humility" or just technical skills.
- Audit your feedback culture: Determine if employees feel safe enough to point out "slimy" situations or if they feel pressured to "fake" it to please leadership.
- Monitor the 2026 legal updates: Keep an eye on the retrial developments, as this will likely set a massive precedent for how "leadership training" contracts are handled with government entities.