Revolar closes.
Debt and patent battle shut down tech firm.
Unable to pay its debts and facing a patent dispute, Denver tech darling Revolar has ceased operations and hired a restructuring firm known for selling off assets, according to a court filing.
Sherwood Partners, based in Mountain View, Calif., was hired last month and took control of Revolar on Sept. 25, according to a filing made Oct. 17 with Court of Chancery in Delaware, where Revolar is incorporated.
After exploring options, including talking to bankers, Sherwood said none of the options were viable and it plans to sell the company’s assets. Revolar’s business operation was shut down and Sherwood filed what is known as an assignment for the benefit of creditors, which is considered an alternative to bankruptcy.
Revolar’s closure was first reported by BusinessDen.
But the panic-button maker has not completely vanished. Its website is still live, and its wearable gadgets were on Tuesday still available at Target, Best Buy and Home Shopping Network.
“We are in a transition right now,” said company co-founder Jacqueline Ros, confirming that company has moved out of its Denver headquarters. She declined to comment further.
Sherwood officials also did not respond to a request for comment.
Revolar has been a local darling, thanks to the enthusiasm of Ros and co-founder Andrea Perdomo. After her sister was assaulted, former schoolteacher Ros came up with the idea to develop a panic button that people could quickly press to discreetly trigger their smartphone to call for help. The project was a hit when it was crowdfunded in the spring of 2015.
The company went on to build its wearable technology; raise $3 million from investors, which include The Foundry Group in Boulder; and join the first Target Techstars accelerator business class last year.
But the company last year was hit by a patentinfringement lawsuit by San Diego-based Security5, which operates under the name OnAlert. It, too, has a panic button to call friends for help.
According to its suit, filed June 28, 2016, Security5 said its U.S. Patent 7,907,931 on “Portable Communications Device” was issued March 15, 2011. Security5 sued Revolar for damages and a permanent injunction.
Dan Lawton, who represents Security5, said the case has been on hold since June after Security5 asked that the U.S. Patent Office review Security5’s patent again to clarify issues brought up in court.
Lawyers from Greenberg Traurig in Chicago represented Revolar. A call to the firm for comment was not returned by deadline.
In what now seems like a last-ditch effort to survive, Revolar in June hired former Otter Products CEO Brian Thomas to take over as CEO. At the time, Revolar employed 21 people. Thomas appears to have left the company, although on Sept. 25 he signed over patents and trademarks to Sherwood, which is now controlling the new business, Revolar LLC.
Revolar this month vacated its office space at 800 Grant St. and laid off 25 employees, according to BusinessDen’s report.