Open-ID startup Vidoop officially Dead

Bad news for Portland-based Open-ID startup Vidoop (as well as Vidoop partners like AOL, MySpace and Flock): it’s apparently out of business. Earlier this month the company announced layoffs, but based on an email string that was forwarded to us, the company is now “officially out of business” and winding down.

Here's the email communication from co-founder & president Joel Norvell that was leaked to TechCrunch:

Vidoopsters:

I am currently working with our counsel on next steps, but here is what I know:

Vidoop LLC is officially out of business. Unfortunately, there are no funds to pay the unpaid wages or other liabilities. I don’t yet know if this means there will be a bankruptcy filing. However, we are in the process of winding down and vacating the office.

Tomorrow and Friday we will be offering certain equipment such as laptops and desktop computers to employees in lieu of a certain amount of wages owed. As an example, a laptop might be worth $1000 in back wages. You would only need to pay taxes on the actual book value of the asset, which might be $250. So you would write a check for $0.153 on $250, or $38.25. The company’s liability to you would be reduced by $1000, and you would have a laptop for $38.25.

The investors who walked out of the May 5 deal created a situation that made an orderly shutdown impossible. However, several of us have worked nonstop to preserve everyone’s stake in Vidoop, and efforts are ongoing. We hope to provide details soon.

Thanks to everyone who is volunteering their time to help shut down the office. There is simply no roadmap for a situation like this, and I know it is frustrating. Your support during this difficult period is very much appreciated.

Joel