Bounced paychecks, frozen 401(k)s — How Fresno's 'shining star' let down the people it aimed to serve

In retrospect, the signs that trouble was brewing for Bitwise Industries had been piling up for months.

Lawsuits. Bounced paychecks. Missed property tax payments.

But for the last decade, the Fresno company had been selling a powerful dream to cities across California's Central Valley and the country — places that had been left behind in the digital transformation of the economy. Bitwise offered workforce training to the underserved, software services, and co-working spaces to revitalize downtowns. City officials and community members rallied behind the business. California Gov. Gavin Newsom even thanked the company for its services during the pandemic.

That dream was abruptly shattered when Bitwise furloughed all 900 of its employees on Memorial Day evening, as first reported by the Fresno Bee and Bakersfield Californian, with no answers from any of its leaders ever since.

"We are facilitating here a fairly significant transition of our regional economy [and] we felt like they were going to serve a critical role," said Kern County chief administrative officer Ryan Alsop. "They were a bright and shining star."

Bitwise's board of directors has since fired co-CEOs and co-founders Irma Olguin Jr. and Jake Soberal and hired Ollen Douglass, CEO of consulting firm Hanover Street Advisors, as interim and alleged violations.