It seemed like a match made in heaven. A thriving Black-owned business and a blossoming Black-owned financial institution. In 2022, fintech firm Greenwood acquired the popular private membership club and co-working hub The Gathering Spot. The deal was to help The Gathering Spot, which was started in Atlanta and branched off into DC and Los Angeles, expand. Now, the Gathering Spot is suing Greenwood over alleged missed payment and mismanagement.

The founders of The Gathering Spot claim that Greenwood failed to fulfill their agreed-upon payment, leaving them and other investors feeling shortchanged.

Greenwood CEO Ryan Glover denied the allegations. The company has filed a counterclaim seeking attorney’s fees and costs and expenses in the litigation, tk reported.

The Gathering Spot was launched in 2016 by founder Ryan Wilson and his partner, TK Peterson, who were rejected 97 times while trying to raise capital. But the entrepreneurial pair persevered and opened the Black-owned private membership club. TGS has more than 12,000 individual and corporate members, according to legal documents.

Greenwood was launched by Bounce TV founder Ryan Glover and Atlanta tech entrepreneur Paul Judge. Founding investors include Michael “Killer Mike” Render and former Mayor Andrew Young, neither of whom are named in the lawsuits.

There are several lawsuits.

In a lawsuit filed in February, Wilson and Petersen claim that Greenwood failed to make a “substantial” payment to them and other TGS investors earlier this year. Wilson filed another lawsuit last week, claiming Glover and Judge paid themselves bonuses instead of the $5 million payout, Axios reported. The lawsuit alleges that Greenwood is insolvent. Greenwood has denied the claims and, in its countersuit, alleged that TGS’ founders misrepresented their finances, which led to unforeseen obligations of over $27 million, Tech Crunch reported.

Recently, Greenwood said that Petersen would exit TGS, while the company announced the hiring of a chief financial officer who is white. This hiring of a white exec to run a proudly Black-owned company outraged many on social media.

Black American Ryan Wilson who owns the largest Black own tech company in the world just figured his Black American Co Founder & hired a white man as the companies CFO. This is treason & why Black Americans can’t stay ahead pic.twitter.com/cjOenPu3Uh

— Freedmen.Culture (@FreedmenCulture) July 15, 2023

Photo: Ryan Wilson, the CEO and co-founder of The Gathering Spot. By Anita Sanikop/Moguldom