Scumbags
Bench, a Canada-based accounting startup that offered software-as-a-service for small and medium-sized businesses, has abruptly shut down, according to a
That sentence also shut down apruptly. How fitting.
? Here’s the rest, not sure why you’re not seeing it:
notice posted on its website.
Maybe it is a client thing, but I saw this especially fitting.
The notice recommends customers migrate to Kick, a new accounting startup that announced its $9 million seed raise in October 2024 in a round led by OpenAI and General Catalyst. Kick’s CEO and founder, Conrad Wadowski, posted a message on LinkedIn to former Bench users about how Kick is “working to get your financials back in your hands.”
This is weird. How did “Kick” have access to Bench’s customer list? Is there some relationship between these companies?
Yes, very likely the VCs for both are the same and Bench was sunk because kick has “AI” and you can make serious money on it as it just landed, meaning when the vcs drop off, the cash in will be orders of magnitude greater than with bench, that had already established itself and stopped growing.
Very odd for that to happen so abruptly. I’m sure the juicy details will come out sooner or later…
Announcing an impending bankruptcy has the potential to hasten it or, in some cases, cause it. Employees and customers are usually kept in the dark while management and investors know.
Especially days before the year is over, which is probably the worst time for it to happen.
AsSaaSination.
No backups as usual: https://www.worldbackupday.com/
How beyond ridiculous. Anyone who loses data to such a fly by night outfit deserves no better.
It was around for 12 years, had 600 employees, and was backed by Sage, which is one of the largest business accounting packages in existence. I don’t think it was fly by night.
The founder pretty much said FAFO regarding them ousting him. So it was doing fine until then.
Here’s a link for those who find the previous comment as intriguing as I did. If someone has the fortitude to go on Twitter and get the full text of that post, I’d be interested in seeing it.
I’m sure there is more than one mom and pop outfit using them who thought they were just “new quick books”. I would certainly feel sorry for people who are swindled by con men, and this feels the same to me.
Drives me crazy that accounting software is SAAS. The last thing I want is my business accounting on someone else’s systems, regardless of how encrypted, backed up, etc.
Just look at the recent large company whose entire business data set was deleted by Google. If it were a small mom n pop, they’d be out of business before Google even responded.
I swear I see a business opportunity as an IT consulting service that implements nothing but local solutions.
Local solutions are best but these shops or businesses probably want something as easy as possible, so Software as a service
