Bench, which means accounting startup. The holidays were spoiled.The company filed for bankruptcy in Canada on January 7, revealing huge debts, according to documents seen by TechCrunch.
Documents — One for the Bench and others For 10 sheetsBench's original name — shows that Bench had $2.8 million on hand at the end of its term, but was obligated to pay $65.4 million. (TechCrunch converted Canadian bankruptcy data to $1 USD to $1.44 CAD.) Bench was founded in 2012 and raised $113 million from investors such as Shopify and Bain Capital Ventures.
Most of Bench's debt — $50 million — is owed to the National Bank of Canada, one of Canada's largest commercial banks. As more than 85% of those debts are unsecured, the Bench now has little collateral to ask the bank for defaulted loans. That debt may have contributed to the sudden closure of Bench: Technology Edition Reported with a new face. NBC refused to comply because it was shopping around to sell Bench. NBC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Bankruptcy documents outline Bench's financial obligations to VC investors; A distinction is made between convertible notes (intended to be converted into shares) and direct shareholder loans. Bench owed $1.3 million to Bain Capital Ventures, which appointed Sarah Hinkfuss as a partner on Bench's board in 2023. According to a press release.. Bench owes another $1.2 million to Canadian VC Inovia Capital, executive-resident Adam Schlesinger. Appointed. As Bench's last CEO; Documents were shown. New York-based VC Contour Venture Partners led. Bench's $60 million Series C round has about $750,000 in debt. California-based Altos Ventures is another investor and has $777,000 in debt. All debt related to this VC is unsecured; Import status.
Bench's other debts include $1.8 million in back wages to former employees, the documents show. TechCrunch previously reported The staff of the Bench were suddenly released on December 27. without notice or termination. (Said Employer.com, Bench's new owner. Many employees were reassigned.(They told TechCrunch with temporary contracts as Bench fixes its issues.)
Bench owes tens of thousands of dollars in back pay to former executives: CEO Jean-Philippe Durrios; CRO Todd Daum and CFO Mor Lakritz are listed on the documents. Lakritz's LinkedIn Bench indicates that it has about $50 million in annual recurring revenue.
Finally, Bankruptcy filings show that Bench owes $4 million in unpaid rent to Canadian real estate agency Morguard, most likely for his office. At its peak, Bench employs over 600 people. Employees due to the dispersion of prospective creditors, such as SaaS business software providers; In addition to office space and about $1.5 million (by our back-of-the-envelope math) in debt. spent.
It's also in process as the Bench works its way through bankruptcy. is being acquired. San Francisco-based HR technology company Employer.com, though its clients have also told TechCrunch. Employer.com is requesting the transfer of their data. to the employer or at risk of loss.
Gary Levin, head of corporate development for Employer.com, told TechCrunch that a Canadian court is overseeing Bench's insolvency and distribution of proceeds to creditors. He emphasized that Employer.com has a strong balance sheet that allows it to invest significantly in Bench.