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SparkBase was in bad shape when Stephen Haynes took over as CEO last May.
At the time, he thought the company still had a fighting chance to turn itself around by moving beyond its stagnant core business -- processing gift card and loyalty card purchases. But he changed his mind last month, after SparkBase lost two key clients.
On March 22, the company ceased almost all of its operations, laying off 14 of its 18 employees. Those who remain aim to find a buyer interested in acquiring the company's software. They're also supporting a few remaining clients.
In short, SparkBase "just ran out of money," said Haynes, who also manages a local venture capital firm called Glengary, which owned a stake in the Midtown Cleveland-based company.
SparkBase would've needed to raise more capital to restructure itself, but it had a hard time finding willing investors with cash on hand, Haynes said, noting that Glengary and many other venture capital firms in Ohio are out of cash. SparkBase's complex ownership structure made that task more difficult, he added.
As for the company's existing investors, they...