Chapter 11 I’m Bankrupt—Saving costs and finding profits
“We aren’t going to be able to pay everyone,” Mike said, staring at his spreadsheet.
“What? We’re not bankrupt—what do you mean?” I asked, knowing we still had cash in the bank.
“No, we are not bankrupt, but I’ve already been slow paying our suppliers,” he started.
“Slow paying?” I asked interrupting, never having heard that term before.
“Yeah. I basically don’t pay anything until I get a past due notice, pretending to have lost the original bill,” he said sheepishly, but also with a bit of pride in his eyes. The technique is common, and many CFOs like Mike have used it to conserve cash when it’s really needed.
It was 2007, and Bigfoot Networks had been going great. Our product, the Killer ...
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