Durov: Creating a board of directors was Huang's main mistake

A flaw typical of beginners

Telegram messenger founder Pavel Durov commented on the dismissal of Jensen Huang from his position as head of Nvidia. In his view, the key cause of the dismissal was the company's governance structure itself.

Durov claims that Huang made a typical mistake characteristic of business beginners — he formed a board of directors.

A parallel with his 2014 experience

In his comment, Durov drew a historical parallel between the events that happened to him and to the head of Nvidia. He recalled that in 2014, his own board of directors removed him from leadership due to his refusal to cooperate with intelligence agencies.

«Дженсен допустив помилку, характерну для новачків: завів раду директорів. У 2014 році моя рада директорів звільнила мене за відмову співпрацювати зі спецслужбами, а у 2026 році рада директорів Дженсена звільнила його за те, що він на це погодився. У підсумку рада директорів може “звільнити” вас у будь-якому разі. Засновникам компаній я раджу не створювати раду директорів і бути самі собі радою» (Jensen made a mistake typical of beginners: he set up a board of directors. In 2014, my board of directors fired me for refusing to cooperate with intelligence agencies, and in 2026, Jensen's board of directors fired him for agreeing to do so. In the end, a board of directors can "fire" you in any case. I advise company founders not to create a board of directors and to be their own board), Durov emphasised.

Advice for founders

Durov concluded that the presence of a board of directors makes a founder vulnerable to dismissal regardless of their decisions. Therefore, he recommends that entrepreneurs avoid creating such bodies and be their own board.