It is now clear that the fraud perpetrated against Madwell began many years ago. Between 2019 and 2023 alone, more than half of our revenue, per our own books, was hidden from myself and the government. In a practical sense this equates to over 130 million dollars.
The scale of these misdeeds, compounded by the press narrative blaming me for our financial instability (which in turn caused us to be terminated by our biggest client), have made any fundraising impossible.
As such, Madwell will be ceasing operations at 11:59 pm tonight. A small team will work to unwind various aspects of the business over the next 2 weeks, tending to the obligations they are able to. The past two pay cycles (4/15 and 4/30), as well as reimbursements, will be paid out from our final receivables. We will be covering health benefits for all Madwellians until the end of May.
Additionally, it is my hope that Bank of America (itself a fraud victim), in conjunction with our other large corporate creditors, will work with us so we can further prioritize paying down debts to the many small businesses and individuals most impacted by this theft.
You will receive further communications from People & Culture to help you navigate this process as well as the immediate next steps.
17 years ago I teamed up with a person I thought was my best friend to begin a journey that would ultimately become Madwell. I hoped we could build a place to facilitate unfettered amplification of the imagination. It took more than 1100 exceptional people like yourselves, working as a team across a multiyear relay race of the mind, to make Madwell.
In the end, I believe we reached our goal.
With a broken heart,
c.
