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Bench, the accounting startup that imploded during the holidaysfiled for bankruptcy in Canada on January 7 revealing massive debts, documents seen by TechCrunch show.
The archives – one for Bench and another for 10 sheetsBench’s original name – shows that Bench had $2.8 million in cash on hand at the end of its life, but $65.4 million in liabilities. (TechCrunch converted bankruptcy filing data from Canadian to US dollars at a rate of $1 USD to $1.44 CAD.) Founded in 2012, Bench had 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. More than 85% of that debt is unsecured, meaning the bank has little collateral to claim against the loan now that Bench has failed. That debt may have helped cause the sudden shutdown of Bench: Technical Publication Newcomer said that NBC refused to make concessions to Bench while it was on sale. NBC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The bankruptcy filings also reveal financial obligations to Bench’s VC investors, split between convertible notes (which are meant to convert to equity) and direct shareholder loans. Bench owes $1.3 million to Bain Capital Ventures, whose partner Sarah Hinkfuss was appointed to Bench’s board in 2023, according to a press release. Bench owes another $1.2 million to Canadian VC Inovia Capital, whose executive in residence Adam Schlesinger was appointed as the last CEO of Bench, the files show. Contour Venture Partners, a New York-based VC which he brought Bench’s $60 million Series C round owes about $750,000. California-based Altos Ventures, another investor, owes $777,000. All of this VC-related debt is unsecured, the filings state.
Bench’s other debts include $1.8 million in severance pay to former employees, the documents say. TechCrunch first reported it The Bench staff was suddenly let go on December 27 without notice or allowance provided. (Bench’s new owner, Employer.com, says he laid off a large number of personnelbut he told TechCrunch that they are temporarily on 30-day contracts while Bench works out its issues.)
Bench also owes tens of thousands of dollars in severance pay to former executives as well: CEO Jean-Philippe Durrios, CRO Todd Daum and CFO Mor Lakritz are all listed in the filings. of Licorice LinkedIn indicates Bench had 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, likely for his office. At its peak, Bench employed more than 600 people. Beyond the money owed to employees, the office space is about $1.5 million (from our back-of-the-envelope math) due to a scattering of expected creditors, such as suppliers of SaaS business software, the files do not show how the rest of the money was. spent
As Bench works its way through bankruptcy, it is also in the process of be acquired from Employer.com, the San Francisco-based HR technology company. Even their customers also told TechCrunch that Employer.com asks them to return their data to the employer, or risk losing.
Gary Levin, head of corporate development for Employer.com, told TechCrunch that the Canadian court is overseeing Bench’s insolvency proceedings and will oversee the distribution of profits to creditors. He emphasized that Employer.com has a strong balance sheet that allows them to invest in Bench significantly ahead.
