Twistlock Founders' Startup Closes Down — Returns Remaining Capital to Investors
Twistlock founders Ben Bernstein, Dima Stopel, and John Morello are shutting down their venture, Minimus. The entrepreneurs have decided to return remaining funds to investors after failing to gain market traction.
The founders of container security company Twistlock — Ben Bernstein, Dima Stopel, and John Morello — are bringing their latest venture, Minimus, to an end. The company, which began its journey under the name Gutsy, has decided to cease operations and return the remaining cash in its coffers to investors.
Bernstein, Stopel, and Morello are considered veterans of the local cyber industry, having recorded an impressive exit in 2019 when they sold Twistlock to Palo Alto for approximately 410 million dollars. In its current iteration, the company underwent a pivot, changed its name to Minimus, and laid off staff to focus on solutions for the container industry.
Although it raised 51 million dollars in its first funding round from YL Ventures and Mayfield, the company encountered difficulties in the commercial promotion of its product in a saturated global market. After attempts to secure a merger, acquisition, or sale of the development team failed, the entrepreneurs made the unusual decision not to exhaust their capital, choosing instead to close the company and return the remaining money to investors.
