It was Memorial Day weekend — 2023 — when Bitwise Industries shocked workers with an announcement: the startup was furloughing all 900 employees.
The startup’s collapse gained national headlines as it emerged that the co-founders had defrauded investors and masked a bankruptcy scheme that left employees without paychecks, 401k matches, or jobs.
The company had locations in Fresno, Merced, Bakersfield and other locations. When Bitwise Industries opened the 1635 M Street building in Merced in 2022, the location was heralded as a place that would offer affordable workplace tech-based education classes, while also being a hub for startups and burgeoning businesses.
But Bitwise collapsed in May last year, followed by Chapter 7 bankruptcy and federal criminal charges for its co-founders,
On July 18, for the first time since its collapse, the co-founders of Bitwise Industries, Irma Olguin Jr. and Jake Soberal, released a public statement apologizing for their actions. The statement came one day after they both pleaded guilty to two felony charges.
Anthony Haddad is a former Bitwise employee who now reports for local news outlet GV Wire. Last week, he wrote about his experience as a Bitwise employee and spoke about it with KVPR’s Elizabeth Arakelian.
Listen to the interview in the player on this page. For more Valley news and analysis, please visit our partner KVPR.