Do you remember three quarters of the way thru Thelma & Louise when Brad Pitt’s character stole all of Thelma’s money - forcing her and Louise to rob a convenience store and ultimately drive off a cliff?
December was kind-of like that.
My Declaration in case you want to read it (snooze).
Your bank taking all your money after hours, is rough. By all accounts, this is unheard of and fairly unprecedented.
The real question is why did they pull it? Clearly a different story for a different day.
Forget the record breaking quarter in Q4, the caliber of talent coming into the organization, the year over year growth of social, the headway made in strategic brand partnerships, the power of the community and the stewardship of incredible brands.
The result was reducing a company and a mission to it’s barest fiduciary duty: Laying off 80% of its staff with no cushion, for no fault of their own, with no warning, and over a holiday because asking people to work for free, or to continue any longer, would be unconscionable.
The un-forseen, un-imaginable circumstances surrounding that are material but all but irrelevant.
People are angry, and rightfully so. Some expressed it more delicately than others - but all are infinitely entitled nonetheless.
Hurting decades old brands, relationships, partnerships and potential also leaves a sick feeling. Even worse was compromising a community that’s buoyed these brands, championed them and advocated for them through it all.
The cumulative effect was to be numb.
The net/net: In simplest terms - I don’t recommend Avid Bank. What I do recommend is that if you want talented people to join you, design for you, drive e-commerce for you, manage trade for you, be creative for you, sell for you, manufacture for you, tell stories for you - look to people from Schoolhouse and Food52. They are pretty great.
No Quit.
I spent the holiday’s at my parents house in Vermont.
Most of this time was spent crouched over a desk by the window in my mom’s “office” alongside my 13 year old daughter and her ‘stuff’ - read: oversized sweatshirts, stuffed animals, and press on nails.
This is what our break looked like. It was not zen.
There were a couple options between the 15th and the 1st. Giving up / giving in certainly being the most attractive.
I don’t believe in quitting. It did occur to me that I should have quit this awhile ago. That said, if you’re not wired to quit - you don’t. If you’re primed to go all the way to the mattresses - then down to the mattresses you will go. So here we are.
Don’t get me wrong. It’s not great context: Brands in limbo, good people losing their jobs, valued partners being left out cold, turmoil for days.
But performance is performance and in the course of those 15 days, during a holiday, over nights and weekends -the accomplishment of preventing the entire company from going up in total flames, completing an asset purchase agreement, and moving Food52 into Chapter 11…while not the “outcome anyone was hoping for” - it was a flat out miracle.
I worked hard to sell Barstool to Penn. Same basic deal beats: compressed timeline, the need for secrecy, late nights, a lot of conversations; navigating and negotiating between TCG and the company - and throughout, the participation of a lot of advisors.
Buying Barstool back for Dave was more surreal but far easier.
This trumped it all.
I’ve done an IPO, three sales, a few asset purchases and now a bankruptcy in my career.
The bankruptcy wins. It was the most elite, the hardest to come by and also demanded the highest performance of everyone involved. I will gain more skill from this experience than all the others combined.
It was all precision.
Most of the credit goes to Heidi Robinson our COO/CFO who at this point can tell you what the electric company charges us on an hourly basis and how to account and accrue for it.
Also credit to Blake, our anonymous banker.
And most of all, a huge debt of graditude and respect to our team for the past year. This group of people showed up every day to keep things going. They showed up to deliver and grow an audience 37 million, showed up to build and serve communities engaged with our brands on an enviable level. Showed up despite the odds, despite the uncertainty and despite the obstacles.
The events of December also gave us the good fortune and sense to surround ourselves with a stellar team - Weil, Wildrose, Meru, Young & Conaway (sounds like a soap opera, right?) With any luck, I will keep these people with me for a long time.
The process for the most part was draining and inhuman.
What’s the 13 week cash flow?
Back to the 13 week cash flow.
Adjust the 13 week cash flow.
What’s the 13 week cash flow?
Cut. Again. Cut. Whistle. Cut Again.
I will forever be obsessed with a 13 week cash flow. Twitching for it, really.
It’s been an understandably tense time with the board.
A lot of hopes, faith, reputation and money lost.
In a bad time - or when skating through a rough patch - do you ever find some hill to die on out of your own (probably outsized) sense of dignity and righteousness?
We made our hill showing up on video calls.
Say whatever you want about me, this company and this process. I’m proud that no matter the time, the circumstance, the hour, the topic. We showed up as people.
Bankruptcy is a World unto Itself. Full Disclosure: I Like Bankruptcy People.
Bankruptcy lawyers, and the finance types are great under pressure.
In general, I am finding that this is my bar - being good under pressure and being graceful when you have the occasion to not be.
Bankruptcy people are both good and graceful. They don’t waste energy. They are maniacs. They play the game and don’t complain.
They even occasionally ask how you are doing which is more than I can say for most in this process.
When delving into the underworld - what you find is that the circumstances, the available options, the law and the timeline itself is punative, finite, expensive and inflexible.
‘You’re going to live in a fishbowl’ is what they say. The water’s warm would be my response.
These unique set of circumstances breeds, in my short observation, highly skilled, decisive and sharp people. It also breeds fast and fleeting opportunity. The weird thing is that only the people brave enough to dunk their head under water are the ones to get it.
Bankruptcy people remind me of cops. Skilled, guarded, private, insular, and adept with dealing with the dark stuff most civilian types don’t want to touch. I used to think of it like a communicable disease. If you catch it, you can’t get it off you. Time will tell.
The entire operation has a marketing problem.
To that end and if being honest, I feel like I’m supposed to feel ashamed right now. I don’t.
Am I tired? Yes.
Angry? Deeply.
Do I have remorse and regret for other things? A ton.
Hopeful? Beyond.
And for the Chapter 11 - I have nothing but gratitude, appreciation and pride.
When you find yourself shit-out-of-luck (as my mom would say) parlaying yourself into a Chapter 11 isn’t a failure, it’s a feat.
Media people are afraid of the Big B - but we shouldn’t be.
It’s dark, yes.
It’s damaged, certainly.
It’s also premium and expensive and highly orchestrated and coordinated. It’s structured.
Most of all, it’s also infinitely opportunistic and fast.
I don’t know why there isn’t an alert system for the auctions for brands and assets coming out of this process. Note to anybody listening: Bankruptcy needs it’s own Twitter.
What would you find?
Brands fairly intact, audiences relatively unaware, complications shed - and everything heavily discounted as a result. What’s not to love?
The hardest thing to build right now, is a brand
This is an incredible opportunity for brave acquirers to breathe life into newly made companies and brands that have recognition and meaning. As someone who has spent their professional life in consumer brands - this is impossible to manufacture or buy.
Food52, Schoolhouse and Dansk and their communities will enjoy this privilege and opportunity.
My biggest hope is that so too will the people who’ve worked to build them.
To that end, enormous credit goes to America’s Test Kitchen and Marquee for having the guts, vision and stamina to be a stalking horse for Food52 and to fund this process.
Even the judge gave credit to ATK and Marquee -a company not in the day-to-day business of bail-outs and not altogether familiar with the inner workings of Food52. For these folks to step in at the 11th hour, when they didn’t have to is pretty awesome.
So, What’s Next?
Apparently this is the year of the fire horse, so buckle up. I’m excited for shedding what doesn’t suit or serve and igniting what does.
I’m excited for these brands to serve what matters - their customers and communities, their potential, and their visions (old and new).
Anything can happen, always - and I’m really hopeful it does.
What this will look like for me, for Food52, Schoolhouse and Dansk? Who knows?!
And this is a great thing.
Here for it.