38 Studios

Eomer_sl said:

It was mentioned numerous times, in numerous articles and on these boards that he had personally backed loans to 38. .

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spronk_sl said:

there is nothing illegal and in fact its fairly common to use rounds of funding to cover repayments of loans,

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Well actually, we will all get our shit pushed in since he'll need special treatment etc.. which we tax payers get to pay for.

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Moorgard_sl said:

He didn't lock us out of the building or hide away while someone else fired us.

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Moorgard_sl said:

I won't address Curt's personal finances. It's easy to mock his actions, given how things turned out. But I want this to be known: He didn't put up his personal money out of ego or hubris. He did it because he cared about all of us and was willing to do anything he could to keep things going. Contrast this with countless executives who, at the first sign of trouble, cash out their golden parachutes and ride money yachts into the sunset. He could have done that a long time before things went bad. He didn't, even though he was advised to, and despite how clearly it was to his personal detriment to stick it out.

Curt went down with the ship. He didn't lock us out of the building or hide away while someone else fired us. He pretty much slept in the office that last week, trying to make any deal he could to stave off the inevitable. He spent those last few days walking through the building, talking to people, apologizing to everyone, saying whatever he could despite the pain he and the rest of us were in. The last time I saw him, we shared a long hug goodbye, both of us in tears. He never ran away and hid. That's the kind of man he is.

Call him a lousy businessman if you want; the burning husk of 38 is all you need to make your case. Say he made foolish decisions; you're unaware of the many good ones he made, but go ahead and focus on the bad. But realize that he was a different kind of boss, and above all else, just a genuinely good guy who wanted to see his team succeed. The world needs more people like Curt, not fewer--hopefully learning from past mistakes rather than repeating them.

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Moorgard_sl said:

Curt went down with the ship. He didn't lock us out of the building or hide away while someone else fired us. He pretty much slept in the office that last week, trying to make any deal he could to stave off the inevitable. He spent those last few days walking through the building, talking to people, apologizing to everyone, saying whatever he could despite the pain he and the rest of us were in. The last time I saw him, we shared a long hug goodbye, both of us in tears. He never ran away and hid. That's the kind of man he is. The world needs more people like Curt, not fewer--hopefully learning from past mistakes rather than repeating them.

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The Truth_sl said:

On May 24, the entire 38 Studios staff waslaid off via e-mail.They hadn't been paid since the end of the previous month, but their problems were just beginning. In short order, their healthcare disappeared and their 401(k)s were frozen. Then, MoveTrek Mobility - a company 38 Studios hired during the relocation to Providence to buy and resell employees' Massachusetts homes -notified seven people that, because it had not yet sold their houses, they were potentially responsible for their old mortgages. And Atlas Van Lines alerted some individuals that they were on the hook for bills that management hadn't paid.

Thom Ang is one of those people suddenly stuck with his old mortgage. With two young kids, no salary, rent due on his Rhode Island home, and now a mortgage in Massachusetts to pay, he's afraid his credit is about to be ruined. "I wasn't even aware that this could or would happen," he says, "and then having it affect where I could possibly live and where I could possibly work?"

At the last minute, Schilling believed he'd found a white-knight investor to inject $15 million into the company. But that deal, too, was dependent on additional tax credits from the state, and fell apart. On June 7, 38 Studios filed for bankruptcy.

One of the company's final acts - between June 4 and June 6 - was to pay COO William "Uncle Bill" Thomas just over $12,000 for his work shutting down 38 Studios, according to bankruptcy documents. Nearly every other employee had not been paid for more than a month.Many local industry veterans and tech investors tell me they're outraged by how Schilling failed to responsibly unwind the company and transparently communicate the dire situation to his employees long before May.

One former staff member vented his frustrations on Facebook, writing,"I'd like to honestly know why I was hired in the first place on January 16th, 2012.when members of the company knew they were behind on bills and not doing well economically? I moved my pregnant wife, sold my house for a loss of 18k, relocated away from all my family and friends for a company I thought was honest and forthright to their employees. What did I get in return? An unpaid [$10,500] relocation package months after it should have been paid, a pregnant wife who found out our insurance had lapsed from our doctor,a ton ofbounced checksand payments to billswhen we found out our paychecks had not been paid through the mediaand a large debt to my unemployed father to help us survive."

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