--- title: "“Anti-Woke” Online Bank Immediately Disintegrates Into Chaos" description: "An \"anti-woke\" bank, which tried to woo customers who think Wall Street is too liberal, has imploded and almost went bankrupt shortly after launching." date: "2022-10-12" modified: "2022-10-12" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/anti-woke-bank-immediately-chaos" categories: - "Future Society" tags: - "banking" - "conservatives" - "the digest" --- # “Anti-Woke” Online Bank Immediately Disintegrates Into Chaos ![]() *\Image: Getty Images/Futurism\* ## Conservative Banking An "anti-woke" bank, which tried to woo customers who think Wall Street is too liberal, has imploded and almost went bankrupt shortly after launching, [*The Wall Street Journal* reports](). Despite backing from big-name investor billionaires including Ken Griffin and Peter Thiel, the startup — called GloriFi — descended into chaos within a matter of months, according to the *WSJ*'s reporting, with investors' money rapidly drying up. GloriFi touts itself as a place for blue collar "pro-American values" people, who want to experience unfettered freedom to "celebrate your love of God and country," according to the [company's website](). Founder Toby Neugebauer said he wanted to target those who didn't want to do business with large banks that became too progressive, divesting from industries like coal mining, guns, and the private prison system. "It is about my friends that played football at ‘Friday Night Lights,'" Neugebauer told the *WSJ*. "And they don’t feel loved. They don’t feel respected." ## Volatile Leadership The company has been off to a rough start, though. Staff had to work from Neugebauer's 16,000-square-foot mansion in Dallas, for one thing. According to the report, staffers complained about Neugebauer, who they said was volatile and had a drinking problem ("The attacks on what I do in my home after 5 p.m. are beneath" the *WSJ*, he told the paper.) GloriFi failed to meet its own deadlines, with contracting insurance company Unqork filing a lawsuit against the startup, claiming an alleged breach of contract. According to lawsuit documentation viewed by the *WSJ*, an unnamed GloriFi manager was seen on camera "in a state of undress, on a bed with a companion who was similarly in a state of undress" following a conference call with Unqork. That wasn't its only snafu; a plan to build credit cards out of the same material as shell casing fell apart, according to the WSJ, when the material turned out to interfere with chips and be too thick for point-of-sale systems. In March, Neugebauer informed investors the startup had run out of cash, and investors were understandably wary to give them any more funds, which resulted in the company coming close to bankruptcy. GloriFi's fate is still uncertain. In July, the company merged with an acquisition company, which valued it at an astonishing $1.7 billion. But the company has yet to release any projected earnings or presentation, which isn't exactly surprising, given the circumstances. **READ MORE:** *[How a New Anti-Woke Bank Stumbled]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()