They weren’t on the up and up
Maybe a little “wokeness” isn’t such a bad thing after all:
The Texas startup that sought to build a conservative banking alternative is shutting down.
GloriFi has laid off most of its employees and told them that it is closing up shop, according to people familiar with the matter and emails to employees reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.
The company’s fate became clear on Friday, when funding that it hoped would carry it through the first quarter fell through, Cathy Landtroop, the company’s chief marketing and communications officer, said in an email to employees.
The “financial challenges related to startup mistakes, the failing economy, reputational attacks, and multiple negative stories took their toll,” Ms. Landtroop wrote in the email.
GloriFi’s app made its debut in September. The company said customers could open checking and savings accounts and apply for credit cards. The app was aimed at people who saw Wall Street as too liberal and wanted a bank that shared their values.
An October article in the Journal detailed GloriFi’s turbulent start. The company missed launch dates, blaming faulty technology and failures by vendors, and laid off dozens of employees. Some employees said that founder Toby Neugebauer had a volatile temper and drank on the job, and that the company’s unusual workspace—Mr. Neugebauer’s home—added distractions.
Mr. Neugebauer stepped down as CEO following the article’s publication and became the company’s executive chairman.
The company raised about $50 million from an A-list group of investors last year. In July, GloriFi announced a deal to merge with DHC Acquisition Corp., DHCA 0.10%increase; green up pointing triangle a special-purpose acquisition company. The deal valued GloriFi at about $1.7 billion and required the company to raise at least $60 million in additional cash.
“This is a devastating day,” Mr. Neugebauer wrote in an email to employees.
Yet another scam. And yet some fools gave this idiot $50 million dollars. $50 million dollars! To run a bank in his house!
This is the caliber of MAGA businessmen. They follow their Dear Leader in every way.