Hi, my name is Champ Camba, a Filipino developer and project lead. I’m writing this on behalf of myself and a small international team of freelancers who were left unpaid for nearly 3 months of work by a U.S.-based startup, Venture Backed /// VBCHC Inc., based in New York.

We were hired in October 2024 to build their community platform in time for a major campaign tied to TechCrunch Disrupt 2024. We delivered — under extreme deadlines — and helped them launch ahead of their announcement. To meet these tight goals, I onboarded trusted freelancers from the Philippines, Nepal, and Bangladesh, with the client’s full approval.

We worked professionally and transparently, using Traqq for time tracking, Microsoft Teams and Jira for task management — all within the firm’s internal systems.

Despite being paid for the first few invoices, things changed.

🚨 What Happened:

Our final invoice, covering January 1 to March 10, 2025, remains unpaid to this day — now 80 days overdue.

The CEO, Fredrick D. Scott( Link 1, Link 2 ), repeatedly acknowledged the invoice but failed to provide any payment timeline.

When I followed up, I was ignored for weeks. When I mentioned launching a public campaign to raise support, I was threatened with legal action.

I later discovered that TechCrunch rejected the firm’s sponsorship due to issues with this same CEO.

A former marketing director privately messaged me to say she also was never paid by the same company.

This isn’t a one-time mistake. It’s a pattern.

🌍 Who Was Affected:

• Myself – 🇵🇭 Lead Developer & PM 
• Aswin Giri – 🇳🇵 Senior WordPress Developer 
• Towhid Islam – 🇧🇩 Senior Theme Developer
• NJhay Camba – 🇵🇭 QA Tester
• Angeli Camba – 🇵🇭 Technical Writer
• Princess Nuevas – 🇵🇭 Marketing Manager ( We included her to help with her unpaid wages )

 We’re not an agency — just independent freelancers who believed in the work and trusted the leadership. .

 I chose not to include my own unpaid wages here—my top priority is ensuring that my team gets paid first. 

💡 Why We're Asking for Help:

We are raising funds to:

• Pay each freelancer for the work already completed
• Recover from the financial loss of nearly 3 months without compensation
• Raise awareness about unethical hiring practices that exploit freelancers globally

I understand that startups can face financial challenges — but they must stop hiring people and assigning work when they no longer have capital to pay. That’s not just poor planning — that’s exploitation.

📎 We Have Proof:

• Time logs via Traqq (downloaded from the firm’s own account)
• Invoices
• Jira task records
• Emails and messages
• Screenshots of threats and invoice acknowledgments

We’re prepared to show all of it if necessary.

🙏 A Message From Me:

As someone living with PTSD, this situation has deeply affected my mental health. I feel responsible for the freelancers I onboarded — people who trusted me and gave their full effort. I’ve been honest with them that I can’t shoulder the unpaid invoices on my own.

This campaign is my last resort — and my way of doing right by the people who stood with me.

Whether you donate, share, or simply read our story — thank you. You’re helping us fight back against a system where talented people are too often mistreated and silenced.

With gratitude,

Champ Camba

Lead Developer

📧 champ@brocodewp.com