First automated business closure platform helps founders shut down their company and move on to next project
SimpleClosure, the easiest and most trustworthy way to shut down your startup, announced it has raised $1.5 million in pre-seed funding. Co-led by Michael Vaughan and Jon Pomeranz of Vera Equity and Rex Salisbury of Cambrian Ventures, with strong participation from a slew of high-profile SMB-focused startup founders and executives, the funding comes amidst an uptick in startup closures as the economy shifts and raising venture capital becomes more challenging.
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“As a three-time founder, I intimately know the frustration that arises when that money and energy could be used towards a new project.”
“SimpleClosure’s mission is to automate and streamline the archaic, bureaucratic and manual dissolution and wind-down process, which can cost tens of thousands of dollars and waste hundreds of hours for founders and investors,” says Dori Yona, SimpleClosure’s founder and CEO. “As a three-time founder, I intimately know the frustration that arises when that money and energy could be used towards a new project.”
Automating the shut-down process for other founders came as a lightbulb moment when Yona, during a previous founder journey, was tasked by a board member to create a “shutdown analysis.” After being sent from lawyer to lawyer and accountant to accountant, Yona turned to the internet, where he found it nearly impossible to get any reliable information on properly shutting down a company — despite the fact that nine out of 10 startups that raise will shut down.
“It’s as if it’s taboo,” said Yona. “No one wants to deal with the process. Information and simplicity is even more critical at a time where, as a founder, you are in a very difficult situation and need as much help and support as possible. I felt like I was the first founder ever shutting down a company in America.”
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More than 75% of SimpleClosure customers, which range from fintechs to healthcare companies, have already moved on to building a new company. Leveraging fintech, AI, and legal technology innovation to execute on company-specific dissolution and closure plans, SimpleClosure resolves any remaining obligations with customers, state agencies, and team members on behalf of the dissolving business.
Global venture funding in July 2023 was the second-lowest since the market reset began, down 53% year-over-year. Early-stage startups face a reckoning if they are not able to raise funding on a two-year cycle. Crunchbase data shows more than 40k startups raised their last round of funding before or during 2021, indicating there could soon be an influx of startup closures.
“Most startups fail and that’s a necessary part of innovation,” said Rex Salisbury, Founding Partner at Cambrian Ventures and former partner at Andreessen Horowitz. “But closing down a business shouldn’t be a painful, expensive, opaque process that leaves a founder wondering, ‘was this done correctly’, ‘am I going to be getting legal and tax notices from some government somewhere telling me I’m in trouble six months from now?’ SimpleClosure provides founders with the assurance that the shutdown process will be executed rapidly and effectively — free from the inherent emotional, financial, and legal complexities typically associated with such procedures.”
Additional investors include executives and founders from such notable companies like Plaid, Brex, Nvidia, Sidley Austin LLP, and Gusto. These startup ecosystem insiders offer a wealth of industry insights, connections, and expertise. The funding will be used to build out SimpleClosure’s core team and scale the product.
“SimpleClosure turned the daunting task of winding down my company into a manageable process,” said Elie Toubiana, founder of Carbon Payments, which shuttered earlier this year. “Their team handled all complexities with professionalism and transparency, allowing me to focus on my next project. For anyone facing the challenge of closing their business, SimpleClosure is a game-changer.”
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