Jake Soberal gives a tour of the State Center Warehouse building in Downtown Fresno, under construction in this September 2018 photo.

Calloused. Betrayal. Fraud. Evil.

Those are just a few of the words used to describe Fresno’s Bitwise Industries and its co-CEOs Jake Soberal and Irma Olguin Jr.

Of course, all of those words were used after Bitwise furloughed its 900-person national workforce over the Memorial Day weekend, finally unable to maintain the house of cards fueled by nearly $160 million in venture capital funding over the years.

It was well before federal fraud charges and a litany of lawsuits.
For the 10 years before Bitwise imploded, these were the sorts of words used to describe the tech firm.

Exciting. Inclusive. Vibrance. Trailblazer.

To truly understand just how meteoric the shift in public opinion was, you had to be there from the start. Bitwise began as a place for techies to congregate, hosting events such as 59 Days of Code. It’s coworking venue, Hashtag, was the first place of its kind in the Central Valley when it opened in 2011. Coding classes represented the promise that local job seekers could upskill and make better lives for themselves and their families.

Bitwise was a Fresno thing until it caught the eye of venture capital funding, attracted by its rags-to-riches story, human development mission and inclusivity. The community was amazed at how Soberal and Olguin were expanding nationally. Bitwise was coming to Colorado, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Texas and more. Oakland, Bakersfield and Merced were already regional outposts.

Pretty soon, Bitwise had 900 employees on the payroll nationwide, drawn by its company culture. Many wondered about how Bitwise actually functioned as a company. Was it tech? Real estate?

It didn’t really matter for a long time. Then in May of this past year, GVWire.com reporter David Taub broke the series of stories that things were not well in Bitwise land. It started with unpaid property taxes and late rent payments. Soberal was making a desperate, behind-the-scenes push for money to keep Bitwise afloat — activity that is now the subject of not only bankruptcy proceedings but federal lawsuits and fraud charges.

The numbers have been staggering. Soberal and Olguin have been accused of defrauding investors of $100 million. More than $252 million in bankruptcy debt. At least ten active civil lawsuits. Around 900 former employees left jobless.

Soberal and Olguin haven’t spoken publicly since May. They made their first public appearances in November, appearing in federal court in Fresno to plead not guilty to deceiving board members, investors, lenders and others about Bitwise’s financial condition. They were met in the courthouse by throngs of reporters and former employees who shouted at them in the hallways.

What remains to be done about Bitwise will largely play out in the courtroom in 2024. But it’s worth also highlighting the good things that can come out of bad situations. Former Bitwise employees and business partners have pivoted, starting their own businesses.

Linda Yacoub with Bitwise portfolio company Listing Alert went on to form FrystUp, a virtual whiteboard for the real estate industry.

Jordan Sanchez, a former Bitwise development manager, has taken a job with Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer as a deputy chief of staff. Along with partner Tami Waters, Sanchez just opened ice cream shop Gelateria Del Centro in Downtown Fresno.

And longtime Fresno developer Will Dyck — Bitwise’s Fresno landlord who was left holding the bag — is once again renting out the former Fresno Bitwise building. The City of Fresno recently signed on as a tenant.