San Francisco startup HireClub, which started life as a Facebook Group, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy two years after raising $500,000 in pre-seed funding.
The company filed for bankruptcy in the Northern District of California, San Francisco on Oct. 11. Its filing listed up to $50,000 in assets and debts of as much as $100,000 to more than 200 creditors. A Paycheck Protection Program loan of $46,000 is among the debts listed, as well as $4,014 owed to Brex, another local startup that provides financial services to businesses.
HireClub reported almost $156,000 in net losses in 2019 which grew 56% in 2020 to more than $243,000 in net losses, according to the filings.
The company is filing under Subchapter 5 which allows small businesses to continue operating and develop a reorganization plan without approval from creditors, according to FindLaw.
The company declined further comment, and its lawyer didn't respond to requests for comment.
Co-founder and CEO Ketan Anjaria created HireClub as a Facebook Group in 2011 as a way to help friends find jobs. He launched it as a startup with co-founder Lisa Maria in 2017, according to filings. They raised a pre-seed round in 2019 that was led by Unshackled Ventures, a San Francisco firm dedicated to supporting immigrant founders.
HireClub recently won the Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch — a Shark Tank-like competition hosted by Entrepreneur Magazine where founders ride in an actual elevator (at least pre-pandemic) and have 60 seconds to pitch a group of investors waiting on the other side of the doors. According to the magazine, the startup had over 30,000 members this year as of July.
According to its website, HireClub charges between $119-$499 a month for career coaching and resume help.
