Canine house owners in Baltimore, Philadelphia, and different Northeast cities had been left surprised yesterday when Bark Social, a fast-growing startup that runs a community of pet-friendly social golf equipment, stated it will abruptly shut its doorways.
Bark Social, whose areas provide an brisk mixture of meals, drinks, and music—together with huge play areas for pups—introduced by way of its social media pages that it has run into surprising monetary issues and had no selection however to close down instantly.
“The corporate was in the course of a development spherical when financing that was anticipated fell via,” based on an Instagram post on Thursday whose feedback had been disabled. “To do proper by its workforce members who’re the guts and soul of the corporate, Bark Social has made the powerful resolution to shut its doorways at this time and can enter chapter.”
The publish didn’t say particularly whether or not workers would obtain severance. An electronic mail to Bark Social’s director of selling on Friday prompted an computerized reply saying the corporate was closed till additional discover.
Quick Firm additionally reached out to cofounder and CEO Luke Silverman for extra data.
Stunned prospects have been taking to Reddit and different online platforms to hunt out extra particulars about what occurred. Some stated they’d pay as you go for annual memberships and had been questioning if they’d obtain refunds. Memberships can run upwards of $365 a 12 months, based on Bark Social’s website, with an extra $182 so as to add an additional canine.
Maryland-based Bark Social was based in 2019 by Silverman and Jeff Kurtzman and proved to be a preferred idea, with new areas sprouting up in Pennsylvania and Virginia, along with the Baltimore space. The corporate broke ground on its fifth location in June and had deliberate to open its sixth location in Southern California early subsequent 12 months.
Based on information from PitchBook, Bark Social lately raised $5.46 million in a Sequence A funding spherical in April, for a complete of $17.73 million in funding thus far.