"Our Story There are many variations of passages of available, but the majority have suffered alteration in some form, by injected humour, or randomised words which don't look even..."
edit: after reading Recruiter.com's investor filings (as they're a public company) the acquisition of Bench is going to kill them. The founder has gone hog wild on acquisitions despite having barely enough income to support them. It's a tale as old as time: a medium successful company goes public and starts issuing shares to fund acquisitions at a rate far outpacing the business growth and suddenly, one day, the music stops and everything comes crashing down.
As soon as there is insufficient cashflow for several consecutive periods, the whole thing comes crashing down. This is a strategy for cashing out, rather than building a long term sustainable book of companies for steady, organic growth which has the cash to payout dividends and reward loyal investors.
"By accessing and placing an order with UXTheme, you confirm that you are in agreement with and bound by the terms and conditions contained in the Terms Of Use outlined below. "
Probably not finished but acquired Bench anyways.
Source: YC investment thesis
What’s the mission behind Strivo?
If you are going to use a passage of text, you need to be sure there isn't anything. There are many variations of passages of available, but the majority have suffered alteration in some form, by injected humour, or randomised words.
And former CEO's post: https://x.com/ianwcrosby/status/1872724231999381790
When you're in an acquisition process, the acquirer will often prey on your weaknesses to get a better deal. If Employer.com had already been in talks prior to the shutdown, then they already knew the financial condition, they may have surprised Bench with a dramatic decrease in the purchase price at the 11th hour in an effort to get a better deal knowing Bench's only other alternative would be to shut down. Maybe Bench called their bluff, called off the deal and shut down. (The only rational reason to do that would be if they think they could successfully sue the acquirer or get the original deal back on the table)
Pure speculation, but typically acquisitions take many months to come together. Even a firesale acquisition doesn't happen in a week.
No.
From the acquirer:
“It fits our product roadmap. It was super serendipitous…I saw that news. I was like, ‘This is perfect.’ It checks a lot of boxes for us. It was just a really good synergistic opportunity, so we went for it.”
https://multitudes.weisser.io/p/how-employercom-acquired-ben...
> Acquiring companies DM me
https://pilot.com/bench-qbo-migration
(Disclaimer is that I'm one of Pilot's founders.)
Obviously not an ideal situation, both parties (if an acquisition is indeed happening) would prefer to have been able to do it before Bench's announcement, but there's simply no way to let every single person & company in the world who might consider acquiring them know what's on the table without the information being public knowledge too.
With a rumored 2024 revenue of $54.9m in 2024, and peak valuation at $230m+ (4x Rev which isn't unreasonable to pay even for a tech-enabled services business), churn would've been really bad for this deal to end up here.
Uh, I think that trust may be a bit compromised until they explain what the hell happened.
> Welcome Back [...] More information on how to continue your services will be available soon.
I received an email with subject "Bench is Back — Here’s What You Need to Know". The contents looked like a copy of the previous mail: "We regret to inform you that we will be shutting down Bench services. Effective immediately, [...]".
On a hunch, I checked the HTML version rather than the plain text. "<p>Bench has been acquired by Employer.com and we’re thrilled to share with you that as of today, December 30, 2024, we’re back in action.<br /><br /></p> [...]"
Somehow, they managed to send out an HTML mail that has the plain-text of a completely different mail. How does that even happen? What possible steps would lead to sending such a mail?
-----
For anyone curious about the complete contents of the mail sent to Bench customers (the HTML one they seem to have actually intended to send):
Dear Bench customer,
We wanted to get in touch with you to give you an update on Bench Accounting.
Bench has been acquired by Employer.com and we’re thrilled to share with you that as of today, December 30, 2024, we’re back in action.
What You Should Know
Is anything changing?
No, you will continue to work with the same great team, platform, and service. We’re preparing to wrap up your year-end financials and get you set for a smooth tax season in Q1 2025.
Who will be doing my books?
The same great Bench team will continue to be supporting you with your books using the Bench.co platform, ensuring that you have a seamless experience moving forward.
Next Steps
To continue working with the Bench team and platform, simply login to your account, and click “I Consent.”
This gives us the permission to continue supporting your account, and transfers your data ownership from Bench to Employer.com
If you do not wish to provide consent, you will have the option to opt out. Please note that once opted out, we cannot reverse the action nor can we provide any refunds.
We know the sudden shutdown of Bench disrupted things, and for that, we’re truly sorry. This acquisition is about turning things around and making sure your bookkeeping needs are met — better than ever. We look forward to working with you for a successful tax season ahead.
Thank you for your patience and understanding, and please reach out if you have any questions.
The Bench Team
Bench accounting services shutting down - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42523061 - Dec 2024 (304 comments)
