Backpack lost 90% of its capital when FTX collapsed in 2022, and Armani Ferrante reveals how the team survived with almost no money before rebuilding the company around a four-year global expansion plan
“We shouldn't exist. Backpack should not exist”
“Backpack, we did a round from FTX and others back in, I guess, 2022. FTX collapses, we lose all of our money. It was like 90% of our capital. The company's dead for all intents and purposes”
“But we didn't shut it down, went into cockroach mode, had zero money, basically, and just hard pivoted. We really viewed the collapse of FTX as this really important inflection point”
“We were just like, okay, forget all of this stuff. Let's rebuild everything from the ground up”
“We literally sat in an office in Chicago, took a map of the world, color-coded it, and figured out a four-year game plan. How do we get the money? How do we build the product? How do we get the teams together? And we've literally been setting up teams and offices around the world for four years”
w/
@armaniferrante,
@Backpack