New York (CNN) A New York-based toy company is in bankruptcy Silicon Valley Bank And begs customers to help keep it afloat.
Camp, a venture-backed retailer, sent an email to customers on Friday announcing it was cutting prices and using sales to fund its continuing operations after most of its cash was tied up in a bank failure.
“Unfortunately, most of our company’s cash assets have collapsed in the bank. I’m sure you’ve heard the news,” co-founder Ben Kaufman said in an email to clients.
In an apparent nod to the bank run that helped bring down the Silicon Valley lender, he urged customers to use the code “BANKRUN” to save 40% on all merchandise. The camp said customers could pay full price and that would be appreciated.
“The company hopes this will be resolved soon,” Kaufman said.
CNN has not confirmed whether Camp had money in Silicon Valley Bank when the bank collapsed.
The Silicon Valley bank was taken over by the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation on Friday, capping a 48-hour period during which fears of a liquidity crunch at the firm prompted some startups to withdraw funding.
The sudden collapse of a Silicon Valley lender Tech investors and startups are scrambling To find their financial exposure to the bank, founders worry about getting their money, getting paid, and covering operating expenses.
The rapidly unfolding decline in Silicon Valley banking comes at a challenging time for the startup and tech industries. Rising interest rates have eroded easy access to capital, which has helped fuel soaring startup valuations and funded ambitious, money-losing projects.
Kaufman, a former BuzzFeed executive, founded the camp in 2018. It has nine stores in California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey and Texas.
