Founder Anthony Franco with a McSquares product in 2017. (BusinessDen file)
A local company has gone from “Shark Tank” to bankruptcy court.
Thornton-based M.C. Squares, which makes whiteboard sticky notes, planners and to-do lists, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Dec. 22. The company said in the filing that it owes $3.3 million to 43 creditors and has assets of $900,000.
Chapter 11 bankruptcy allows a business to restructure and keep operating while paying creditors over time.
Founder and CEO Anthony Franco signed the filings. He declined to comment.
Franco founded M.C. Squares nearly 10 years ago to replace disposable office and school supplies such as sticky notes. Its products sell for about $25, according to its website. In 2020, the company appeared on ABC’s Shark Tank and landed what later became a $50,000 investment for 11 percent stake in the company from Kevin O’Leary.
Franco on ‘Shark Tank’
M.C. Squares also received investments from local venture capital firms such aske Kokopelli Capital, Rockies Venture Club and Denver Angels.
In the bankruptcy filing, O’Leary Productions USA LLC is listed as a creditor owed $33,657, while Denver Angels is owed $408,700. Franco is also owed $566,400 for company loans and retainer funding.
The filings show revenue slowed in 2023. M.C. Squares reported $3.8 million in revenue in 2022 and $2.4 million from January 2023 to the December filing date. The company did less than $1 million in annual revenue prior to appearing on Shark Tank, Franco previously told BusinessDen.
M.C. Squares’ assets include finished products, inventory and equipment. The company operates at 550 Thornton Parkway, where it leased 25,000 square feet in 2020. That year, Franco said the company manufactured 95 percent of its products in Colorado and the remainder in China.
Attorney Keri L. Riley with Kutner Brinen Dickey Riley PC is representing the company in its bankruptcy proceedings.
M.C. Squares isn’t the first Colorado Shark Tank veteran to file for bankruptcy. A Fort Collins-based company selling high-protein donuts in whimsical flavors filed for Chapter 11 in 2019, less than two years after its episode aired.
Founder Anthony Franco with a McSquares product in 2017. (BusinessDen file)
A local company has gone from “Shark Tank” to bankruptcy court.
Thornton-based M.C. Squares, which makes whiteboard sticky notes, planners and to-do lists, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Dec. 22. The company said in the filing that it owes $3.3 million to 43 creditors and has assets of $900,000.
Chapter 11 bankruptcy allows a business to restructure and keep operating while paying creditors over time.
Founder and CEO Anthony Franco signed the filings. He declined to comment.
Franco founded M.C. Squares nearly 10 years ago to replace disposable office and school supplies such as sticky notes. Its products sell for about $25, according to its website. In 2020, the company appeared on ABC’s Shark Tank and landed what later became a $50,000 investment for 11 percent stake in the company from Kevin O’Leary.
Franco on ‘Shark Tank’
M.C. Squares also received investments from local venture capital firms such aske Kokopelli Capital, Rockies Venture Club and Denver Angels.
In the bankruptcy filing, O’Leary Productions USA LLC is listed as a creditor owed $33,657, while Denver Angels is owed $408,700. Franco is also owed $566,400 for company loans and retainer funding.
The filings show revenue slowed in 2023. M.C. Squares reported $3.8 million in revenue in 2022 and $2.4 million from January 2023 to the December filing date. The company did less than $1 million in annual revenue prior to appearing on Shark Tank, Franco previously told BusinessDen.
M.C. Squares’ assets include finished products, inventory and equipment. The company operates at 550 Thornton Parkway, where it leased 25,000 square feet in 2020. That year, Franco said the company manufactured 95 percent of its products in Colorado and the remainder in China.
Attorney Keri L. Riley with Kutner Brinen Dickey Riley PC is representing the company in its bankruptcy proceedings.
M.C. Squares isn’t the first Colorado Shark Tank veteran to file for bankruptcy. A Fort Collins-based company selling high-protein donuts in whimsical flavors filed for Chapter 11 in 2019, less than two years after its episode aired.
