The company, formerly known as David’s Disposable, launched in late 2019 and quickly attracted more than $20 million from investors to support development of its trendy photo sharing app that mimics the functionality of an old disposable camera.
Now, many of those investors, including Spark Capital, which led Dispo’s Series A funding round, are promising to withdraw further support for the business and to donate any profits from existing investments.
“In light of recent news about the Vlog Squad and David Dobrik, the cofounder of Dispo, we have made the decision to sever all ties with the company,” Spark Capital said via Twitter. “We have stepped down from our position on the board, and we are in the process of making arrangements to ensure we do not profit from our recent investment in Dispo.”
In a March 16 report from Insider, an anonymous woman said she had been raped by a former member of Dobrik’s team of content creators (known as the Vlog Squad) at a 2018 event hosted by Dobrik. The woman said she was raped the night Dobrik and his friends filmed a video about group sex. Dobrik later posted the video to his YouTube channel.
In a March 22 video apology, Dobrik said he “fully” believed the allegations and acknowledged his responsibility for events leading up to the alleged rape.
Dispo said in a statement the same day that Dobrik, who previously served as the company’s “chief fun officer,” would no longer be involved in Dispo’s operations.
Other investors, including venture capital firms Seven Seven Six and Unshackled Ventures, also released statements that they’d be donating their profits from Dispo.
