Net job firm HotU
files bankruptcy
Internet job recruiting firm HotU Inc. filed for Chapter 11 reorganization bankruptcy last week, claiming $389,761 in debts and $513,556 in assets.
The private firm's financial statements list scores of local and mainland stockholders whose equity is now in question. A Chapter 11 filing allows a company to reshuffle its finances and pay off debt without the threat of lawsuits.
HotU designs software products to connect university students with job recruiters, and it plans to continue operations while it goes through the bankruptcy court process.
HotU started in 2000 at the state Manoa Innovation Center. Its first chief executive was Walter Roth, a Punahou graduate and son of Gov. Linda Lingle's close adviser Randy Roth. That same year, HotU's initial $6.8 million in funding snagged a "Venture Capital Deal of the Year" award from the Hawaii Venture Capital Association.
The company reorganized in 2001, and Walter Roth is no longer chief executive.
HotU is in a legal battle with its former President Laurie Foster, over merit pay. The company's largest unsecured creditor is law firm Goodsill Anderson Quinn & Stifel LLP, owed $59,345.
The bulk of HotU's debt, more than $300,000, is unsecured. Hotu's largest asset is its office equipment and furnishings at its downtown Harbor Court office. The filing does not include two HotU affiliates.
The company's largest secured creditor is Hawaii investment firm PacifiCap Group, the previous employer of state business director Ted Liu.
HotU President Cathy Owen was not available for comment yesterday.
