Recently, there have been many articles covering about HonestBee scandal. I would like to summarize the articles for you, based on my analysis.

On Feb 18, 2020, HB has created a new entity and the creditors are worried about the illiquidity of the new entity. It has already delayed payments of salaries of 150+ workers. Not a very good sign if you ask me. Seemingly, there doesn’t seem to be much recourse that could be taken at that time. A friend of mine even mentioned that he would just write off the exposure and quit and move on (for employees). Again, judge people by what they do not what they say. Actions speak way louder than words.

On March 2, 2020, more was revealed that they have even started moving their furniture out of their current premises from their “habitat”. Police was even called in to investigate why the company was moving their furniture out. Landlord and tenant having some big issues. It was even written in the company’s books that it has about $5m in furniture, fixtures and store equipment.

Just yesterday, they started laying off staff, and guess what, large conflict of interest. The company leased a shophouse unit“… from chief executive ONG lay Ann…” This sounds like a WeWork all over again…

This shows the importance of understanding the risk in startup/venture investing (as an angel investor). Key lesson: Don’t overexpose yourself too much in one company. 95% of businesses fail within 5 years of opening. Be very careful when you start doing venture investing. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.

Peace.

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