The Briefing

By Martin Peers

Thanks for reading The Briefing, our nightly column where we break down the day’s news. If you like what you see, I encourage you to subscribe to our reporting here.

Greetings!

A week before Christmas, venture capitalist Elad Gil tweeted, “Lots of year end company shutdowns…happening right now,” offering a tantalizing hint of behind-the-scenes drama. Gil’s tweet appears to have been on the money: At least three companies have closed their doors since then—accounting firm Bench last week, LinkedIn rival Polywork earlier this week and benefits outfit Level, whose shuttering was first reported by The Information on Thursday.

Given Gil’s vantage point—see this profile of the investor—you have to assume more such closures are on the way. Several of those shutting their doors are part of the ZIRP generation, firms that raised money during the ultralow interest rate environment that followed the Covid-19 pandemic. In that period—particularly 2021—money was so cheap that venture capitalists were throwing it at any startup with a wisp of an idea, no matter how ill conceived. Both Bench and Level last raised money in mid-2021, according to PitchBook.

Surging interest rates in 2022 choked off those funds and made life very difficult for startups that were losing money and needed to raise more. Level told its customers in an email that a planned fundraising had fallen through, while Bench tried to sell itself. (Find more details on Bench’s travails here). These two are just the tip of the iceberg.

In August, Tally, which helped “people manage and pay off their credit card debt,” closed its doors, it said on LinkedIn. We reported in May that Ampla, which offered credit lines to merchants, was looking for a buyer after failing to raise a fresh round of capital. Around the same time, fintech Synapse collapsed, causing chaos for customers of banking startups that used its technology. And there’s surely a myriad of other firms that managed to disappear without getting media attention.

The fintech news is not all bleak. Some have prospered well enough to be planning to go public: Chime and Klarna have both filed confidentially for an IPO. In other words, we’re seeing a culling of the herd. Of course, going public is no guarantee of a firm’s viability, as investors in ill-fated firms such as Casper know too well. But for early investors, at least, an IPO is a good sign they’ll get a return on investment—unlike a firm closing its doors.

Who Believes in a TikTok Ban?

Barring a last-minute intervention from the U.S. Supreme Court, mobile app stores will have to drop TikTok on Jan. 19, effectively banning the app in the U.S. But creators and advertisers don’t seem to believe it.

According to The Wall Street Journal, many creators are acting like nothing is happening. And The Information reported today that big ad-buying firms representing large advertisers are also operating as though it was business as usual, waiting to see what happens.

To be sure, this attitude isn’t across the board. At least one smaller ad-buying firm was holding off on putting new clients into TikTok, our story said. But even TikTok is operating—at least from the outside—like there’s nothing to see here. The company has an event scheduled at the Consumer Electronics Show next Wednesday evening, two days before oral arguments are scheduled in the Supreme Court hearing that will determine the app’s immediate future.

Sure, any ban may only last a day—Donald Trump becomes president on Jan. 20 and could suspend the ban for 90 days to allow time to work out a deal. But even then, such a deal is far from certain. Creators and advertisers may have to start facing reality.

In Other News

Meta Platforms named Joel Kaplan chief global affairs officer, succeeding Nick Clegg and elevating the company’s most prominent Republican ahead of Donald Trump’s presidency and Republican control of both houses of Congress.
Tesla said it sold fewer electric vehicles in 2024 than in the prior year for the first time since 2010, despite incentives including lower prices, zero-interest loans and free charging. Tesla shares fell 6% on the news.

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The Briefing: Level, Polywork Closures Set Trend