In August, we reported that a four-year-old, venture-backed remodeling startup called Made Renovation was failing its customers, by their own telling. Though it marketed itself as a one-stop shop to beautify bathrooms — it offered potential customers a variety of templates, then promised to pair them with in-house project managers, help with required permits, assign them contractors, order the required materials and offer updates and virtual assistance until every renovation was complete — people increasingly complained to the company, on social media and to this editor, that what Made Renovation was really providing was broken promises, long delays and cost overruns.
One customer told TechCrunch that a general contractor assigned to her project by Made refused to demolish her old bathroom, dismantling only the top half. Another shared that Made disbanded its project management team without alerting him and spun the cost-cutting development as a positive for customers. It subsequently sent him a downloadable “Self-Management Construction Support Guidebook.” Meanwhile, over at HomeAdvisor, a digital marketplace that connects service professionals with customers, Made Renovation received half a star out of five across seven reviews listed. Made Renovation is “[w]here dreams of great-looking bathroom remodeling and belief in seamless project management go to die,” wrote one reviewer. “Absolute nightmare of an experience!” wrote another.
The founder and then CEO of Made Renovation, Roger Dickey, didn’t respond to our requests for comment at the time. Now, two months later, the company, which had raised at least $31 million across two rounds of fundings, has let its shareholders know that it is closing the business and selling off “certain assets of the company” to an unnamed acquirer “as quickly as possible.” (Maybe before the acquirer changes its mind?)
Richard Couch, the chairman and CEO of a turnaround firm, Diablo Management Group, authored the note, saying that his firm is actively unwinding the company and that, while Made still exists, he has been appointed its CEO and sole director.
What that means for Made’s customers isn’t clear. We have reached out to Couch for more information. Meanwhile, the Walnut Creek, California, number listed in his letter to shareholders prompts an error message, saying that calls to the number cannot be completed as dialed.
Here’s the letter that was sent out this past Saturday:
October 15, 2023
To All MADE Shareholders:
This correspondence is to inform you that, effective October 10th, 2023, MADE Renovations [“MADE”, the ‘Company”] announced that it had received a formal Letter of Intent from a potential acquiror who seeks to purchase certain assets of the Company as quickly as possible.
Following this sale, the company intends to close the business, release all employees, and settle all affairs of the Company to the extent that resources and circumstances will allow.
Effective on the same date, the MADE Board of Directors engaged the services of Diablo Management Group [“DMG”], a nationally recognized turnaround and consulting firm, for the purpose of managing the company’s sale of assets and business closure.
I, Richard G. Couch, Chairman and CEO of DMG, have been appointed as CEO and the sole Director of MADE. With this action, all Officers of the Company have been released and all members of the Board have resigned, except Mr. Couch.
Although we are in active negotiations and planning with a potential purchaser, we cannot predict a successful outcome nor make any estimate of value at this time. Should this transaction not be completed, we will proceed with business cessation.
We are in the process of determining the total assets and liabilities of the Company. While this process is underway, cash resources have sufficiently diminished such that we have suspended payments on any past due obligations of the Company. We will provide updates on our progress as soon as possible.
Contact with the Company should be directed to the following:
• Phone: 925-979-XXXX
• Email: info@maderenovations.comSincerely,
Richard G. Couch
Director and CEO
Untitled Labs, Inc. dba Made Renovations
Comment