Reusable sticky note startup mcSquares, which also does business as M.C. Squares, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection just days before Christmas.
Thornton-based mcSquares sells reusable home, office and classroom products such as sticky notes, planners, calendars and to-do lists.
Filing for Chapter 11 allows mcSquares to restructure and remain operational. According to the filing, the company will propose a reorganization plan that suits the best interests of its creditors. A plan has not yet been filed with the District of Colorado bankruptcy court.
McSquares was unavailable for comment.
According to the Dec. 22 bankruptcy filing, mcSquares owes between 20 and 49 creditors approximately $3.34 million. The filing also states that mcSquares has roughly $906,000 in assets and about $5.7 million in net operating losses.
McSquares was founded in 2015 by serial entrepreneur Anthony Franco. McSquares is Franco’s fifth business, according to the startup’s website.
The startup gained popularity after appearing on ABC’s “Shark Tank” in 2020, where mcSquares signed a deal with investor Kevin O’Leary. Four months after the show aired, Franco told Colorado Inno that terms of the deal with O’Leary changed from the initial $300,000 for 25% of the startup to $50,000 for an 11% stake. Franco said this was because capital became less important for mcSquares after it experienced rapid growth at the beginning of 2020. At the time, the startup planned to grow its team from 10 to 25 employees.
O’Leary’s company was listed as one of 20 creditors with the largest unsecured claims owed by mcSquares. The filing lists $33,657.84 in unsecured claims owed to Boston-based O’Leary Productions. The list also named New Jersey-based Integral Micro Cap Opportunity Fund (owed $850,000 from a convertible note), venture capital firm Denver Angels (owed $408,700 from a convertible note) and the Colorado Small Business Administration office (owed $362,457.48).
McSquares’ Franco was also listed twice for a $534,686.63 loan to the company and $31,738 in a “short-term cash flow loan & retainer funding.”
The same document lists $22,744.79 in personal property taxes due to Adams County.
McSquares has raised a handful of funding rounds to date, including more than $1 million through crowdfunding campaigns and more than $660,000 from Denver Angels.
