ThielBank runs out of suckers

Remember the hilariously inept “anti-woke” bank funded by Peter Thiel and various other MAGA cranks? The story has reached its fitting conclusion:

The Texas startup that sought to build a conservative banking alternative is shutting down.

GloriFi has laid off most of its employees and told them that it is closing up shop, according to people familiar with the matter and emails to employees reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. 

The company’s fate became clear on Friday, when funding that it hoped would carry it through the first quarter fell through, Cathy Landtroop, the company’s chief marketing and communications officer, said in an email to employees.

The “financial challenges related to startup mistakes, the failing economy, reputational attacks, and multiple negative stories took their toll,” Ms. Landtroop wrote in the email.

GloriFi’s app made its debut in September. The company said customers could open checking and savings accounts and apply for credit cards. The app was aimed at people who saw Wall Street as too liberal and wanted a bank that shared their values.

An October article in the Journal detailed GloriFi’s turbulent start. The company missed launch dates, blaming faulty technology and failures by vendors, and laid off dozens of employees. Some employees said that founder Toby Neugebauer had a volatile temper and drank on the job, and that the company’s unusual workspace—Mr. Neugebauer’s home—added distractions.

Sure, it was the vendors.

Derek Thompson’s article about how higher interest rates mean that it’s a lot harder for Silicon Valley companies to just keep throwing venture capital at their shitty ideas also seems relevant here.