The bankruptcy filing wasn't the end.
For Kendall Card, it may have been the beginning of the hardest part.
BlackOvis and Camofire had filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Employees had been told. The websites were down. The remaining customer orders had been shipped or refunded.
Kendall thought he was finished.
Then he learned he was still personally tied to the building.
There was inventory everywhere.
Vendors were owed money.
The court now controlled the assets.
Former employees needed work.
And Kendall suddenly found himself trying to empty a massive warehouse while also helping brands recover whatever product they legally could.
In Part 4, the final episode of this First Generation Bowhunter series, Adam Buchanan sits down with BlackOvis and Camofire co-founder Kendall Card to talk about what happened after the October 2025 Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing.
This is Kendall's account of that aftermath, told from his perspective and recollection.
Watch Part 4: The Unanticipated Aftermath
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The BlackOvis & Camofire Story
This article is Part 4 of a four-part interview with Camofire and BlackOvis co-founder Kendall Card.
Part 1: 17 Years Building a Hunting Company read here
Part 2: The Price of Private Equity read here
Part 3: Tug of War read here
Part 4: Bankruptcy and the Unanticipated Aftermath
The complete series follows the companies from their beginnings through the October 2025 Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing and what happened after the doors closed.
In Part 4
Adam and Kendall cover:
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Why BlackOvis and Camofire filed Chapter 7 instead of Chapter 11
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Employee severance
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Misunderstandings surrounding Kendall's severance
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Kendall giving away his severance
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Paying former employees to help after bankruptcy
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Discovering personal exposure on the warehouse lease
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Being responsible for more than a year of remaining rent
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Why the warehouse suddenly became Kendall's problem
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Working with the bankruptcy trustee
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Moving and organizing the remaining inventory
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Returning certain recently received inventory to vendors
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Helping brands understand the bankruptcy claims process
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The physical and emotional toll of emptying the warehouse
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Public criticism and online speculation
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Trying to help vendors despite being criticized
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Getting a new tenant into the building
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Lessons Kendall learned about business, investment and relationships
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What BlackOvis ultimately meant to him
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What comes next
Why BlackOvis Filed Chapter 7 Instead of Chapter 11
Not all bankruptcies work the same way.
Chapter 11 can allow a business to restructure and continue operating.
Chapter 7 generally means liquidation.
According to Kendall, the decision was made that BlackOvis and Camofire didn't have enough available capital to realistically pursue a Chapter 11 restructuring.
Chapter 11 can be expensive.
The company would need to continue operating, negotiate with creditors and fund that process while trying to create a court-approved plan.
The decision was ultimately made to file Chapter 7.
The business would be dissolved and its assets handled through the bankruptcy process.
Employees Received Severance
Before the bankruptcy filing, the company used some available cash to create severance payments for employees.
Kendall says employees were given severance based on their compensation and asked to sign the typical documentation associated with the payments.
Then Kendall learned something unexpected.
He had a severance too.
He initially didn't even want it.
After voluntarily reducing his own salary while stepping back from the business, Kendall says his severance totaled approximately $3,900.
Public discussion around the bankruptcy later created the impression, in his view, that he'd received some substantial payout.
Kendall says that wasn't remotely the case.
Kendall Gave His Severance Away
Kendall says he gave the severance to an employee to help cover his mortgage.
Adam adds another detail during the interview.
Kendall also helped Adam and his wife financially during that period.
The point isn't that Kendall wants credit for giving away money.
It's that the public perception of him walking away with a significant severance felt completely disconnected from what he says was actually happening.
At the same time, Kendall had also put significant personal money into the business before bankruptcy in an attempt to help keep it alive.
The Work Didn't End When the Doors Closed
The final customer order being shipped didn't end the story.
Over the following weeks and months, Kendall continued paying former employees who were willing and available to help.
Pack boxes.
Move inventory.
Build pallets.
Operate equipment.
Organize the warehouse.
Keep track of hours.
Kendall would pay them directly.
Some employees eventually found new jobs and understandably moved on.
That was good for them.
But every person who left meant fewer people remained to handle an enormous physical job.
Then Kendall Learned About the Building
A few days before the bankruptcy filing, Kendall learned something that completely changed his personal situation.
He was still tied to the warehouse lease.
Kendall says he had assumed the lease obligations had been transferred when private equity took control and the corporate structure changed.
Apparently they had not.
He and Mark were still personally connected to the lease.
According to Kendall, there were approximately 15 or 16 months remaining at more than $40,000 per month.
Suddenly the bankruptcy of BlackOvis wasn't only a business problem.
It was potentially a massive personal financial problem.
The Company Was Gone. The Lease Wasn't.
The company had filed Chapter 7.
But the building still existed.
The inventory was still sitting inside.
And Kendall believed he needed to get out from underneath the lease as quickly as possible.
Fortunately, efforts had already begun before bankruptcy to find a different tenant because BlackOvis had been considering moving toward a third-party logistics model.
A potential new tenant was interested.
But there was a condition.
The building needed to be ready.
Fast.
The Court Now Controlled the Inventory
The situation was more complicated than simply loading everything onto trucks.
Following the Chapter 7 filing, the assets of the company became part of the bankruptcy estate.
The court-appointed trustee now had authority over what happened to the remaining inventory and other assets.
Kendall couldn't simply move everything because he wanted the building empty.
He needed to work through the bankruptcy process.
So he approached the trustee with an offer.
I'll do the work.
Kendall Became the Warehouse Crew
Kendall petitioned to help inventory, organize and move the remaining product.
He hired former employees out of his own pocket.
They kept the warehouse management system running so there would still be integrity around what inventory existed and where it went.
The days were long.
Kendall describes working roughly 12 to 18 hours a day, six days a week.
The objective was straightforward:
Get the building empty.
Get the inventory somewhere the trustee could manage it.
Get a new tenant into the warehouse.
Get out from underneath the lease.
A Bankruptcy Rule Created an Opportunity for Vendors
While working through the process, Kendall learned about a provision of bankruptcy law that could potentially help some vendors.
Under certain circumstances, vendors may have reclamation rights for goods received by a debtor shortly before bankruptcy.
The exact applicability depends on the circumstances and legal requirements.
But Kendall discovered that some recently received inventory might be eligible to be claimed by the companies that had shipped it.
So he started calling vendors.
Some Brands Could Get Product Back
Kendall says he began identifying brands that appeared to qualify and telling them about the potential claim process.
One example discussed in the episode involved recently delivered tripod and gear inventory.
If unsold qualifying product was still sitting in the warehouse and had arrived within the relevant period before bankruptcy, a vendor might have an opportunity to reclaim it.
Kendall started helping companies identify that inventory.
He helped create reports.
He shared the process he'd learned.
He even provided vendors with a basic form-letter framework they could use when making claims with the court.
The Trustee Was Surprised
Kendall recalls the trustee saying he'd handled bankruptcy cases for decades and had rarely seen companies make use of that reclamation process.
Then BlackOvis happened.
Suddenly multiple vendors were filing claims.
Kendall's response?
Guilty.
He was the one calling them.
These were companies he'd worked with for years.
Some were small.
Some were much larger.
If there was a legal way for them to get unpaid product back, Kendall wanted them to know about it.
Why Help Companies That Were Criticizing Him?
This becomes one of the more interesting moments in Part 4.
Some people in the hunting industry were publicly criticizing Kendall.
Forums were discussing the bankruptcy.
Social media messages were ugly.
Videos were being made.
Kendall initially avoided much of it.
Friends told him not to read the forums.
His son told him the same thing.
Eventually, some of it reached him anyway.
And one of the companies connected to public criticism apparently qualified for the same potential inventory recovery process Kendall had been helping other vendors use.
He had a choice.
Ignore them.
Or call.
He called.
Paying Criticism With Help
Kendall explains his thinking through a Christian teaching from the Sermon on the Mount.
If someone demands your coat, give them your cloak too.
Rather than responding to criticism with anger, he decided he was going to respond by helping.
He contacted the vendor.
According to Kendall, the person was surprised to hear from him and apologized multiple times during the conversation.
Kendall didn't call asking for an apology.
He called because the deadline for the potential claim was approaching.
He wanted them to have a chance to recover product.
Some Vendors Recovered Significant Inventory
Kendall says the effort helped several companies recover product they otherwise may have lost entirely in the bankruptcy process.
That didn't solve everything.
Many vendors had inventory that had been delivered too far in advance to fall within the relevant reclamation window.
Those companies still had to go through the normal creditor process.
But for those who qualified, product could potentially be returned.
For a small hunting company, that could represent a meaningful amount of money.
Emptying the Warehouse Became an Enormous Physical Job
This wasn't a neat retail showroom.
It was a warehouse containing years of hunting inventory.
Small products.
Large products.
Bins.
Pallets.
Racking.
Equipment.
Furniture.
Everything had to be tracked, organized and moved.
As former employees found new jobs, Kendall had fewer people helping.
Adam remembers visiting the warehouse and seeing the size of the task.
There were days when only a few people showed up.
Kendall describes wondering whether he'd ever actually finish.
The Emotional Toll Was Heavy
Part 4 isn't simply a logistics story.
Kendall describes this period as one of the lowest points of his life.
There were stretches where he cried daily.
The stress was overwhelming.
He no longer had the company.
He no longer had a paycheck.
He had potentially enormous personal lease exposure.
People online were criticizing him.
And every morning there was still a warehouse full of work waiting.
There wasn't a simple button that made the bankruptcy disappear.
The Inventory Finally Moved
Eventually, they got it done.
The inventory was organized and moved into another warehouse where it could remain under the bankruptcy process.
The original BlackOvis building was cleared sufficiently for the new tenant.
The deal moved forward.
The new tenant signed.
Kendall was finally able to hand over the space.
Taking Down the BlackOvis Sign
One of the final moments of closure came later.
The new tenants asked Kendall to return to the building.
He went with his brother-in-law.
They removed the BlackOvis vinyl signage from the upper windows.
After everything that had happened, this might finally have been the last time Kendall walked into the building.
Years of building.
Employees.
Products.
Brands.
Customer service.
Late nights.
Private equity.
Arguments.
Bankruptcy.
Warehouse pallets.
And eventually a sign coming off the glass.
Sometimes closure looks like that.
Kendall Is Still Tied to the Lease
Even with a new tenant, Kendall explains that his involvement isn't completely over.
He remains connected to the lease through its term and hopes the new tenant remains healthy and continues operating.
The bankruptcy estate also still had product that would eventually be sold through the court process.
And there were questions Kendall couldn't answer.
Would someone eventually purchase the BlackOvis name?
Could the website return someday?
Would another company relaunch the brand?
He didn't know.
There Was No Pot of Gold at the End
Kendall returns several times to something he recorded in the video outside BlackOvis after the bankruptcy.
There wasn't a giant financial payday waiting at the end of the rainbow.
The value of the experience ended up being something else.
Relationships.
People.
Lessons.
Experiences.
The hunting industry.
Employees.
Customers.
The person he became while building the business.
Even the painful parts became part of that.
The Real Outcome Wasn't the Business Outcome
A friend later sent Kendall a message that helped him reframe the entire experience.
The point, as Kendall describes it, wasn't simply whether BlackOvis survived or whether Kendall ended the experience with a certain amount of money.
The journey itself had shaped him.
It had affected the people around him.
It had taught him how he wanted to operate future businesses.
How he wanted to choose partners.
How he wanted to approach investors.
How he wanted to treat employees.
And what he never wanted to repeat.
For Kendall, the work mattered because of who he became while doing it.
What Kendall Would Do Differently
After almost two decades of building companies, Kendall walks away with plenty of lessons.
Be extremely intentional about who you go into business with.
Define how control works before you need to argue about it.
Understand personal guarantees.
Don't assume contracts or leases were transferred.
Know exactly what outside investment changes.
Have difficult conversations with business partners early.
Understand what you actually want from the company you're building.
And don't measure success only by the financial outcome.
Those lessons weren't cheap.
Faith During the Lowest Point
The final part of the conversation moves into something deeper than business.
Adam and Kendall discuss faith, validation and how to process an experience where different people may sincerely believe they were wronged.
Kendall acknowledges that vendors and creditors affected by the bankruptcy were hurting too.
They were praying for relief.
He was praying for relief.
Those can both be true.
For Kendall, his faith in Jesus Christ became an important source of stability through the months after the collapse.
He describes receiving help in small and unexpected ways while working through some of the hardest days he'd experienced.
Returning to Hunt Expo
Going back into the hunting industry after the bankruptcy wasn't easy.
At Hunt Expo, Kendall says he felt like an outsider.
That's an unusual feeling for someone who had spent nearly two decades building relationships throughout the industry.
But there were also moments of reassurance.
People thanked him for helping recover product.
Friends expressed support.
Then a stranger walked past.
The man recognized Kendall.
He told him he missed his company.
He said BlackOvis had done a good thing and he was sad it was gone.
Then he kept walking.
For Kendall, that meant more than the stranger probably realized.
Why BlackOvis Mattered
BlackOvis was a business.
But it was also a relationship between a company and a group of hunters.
Customers trusted it.
Employees built careers there.
Brands built relationships there.
People found products there.
And Kendall spent nearly two decades of his life helping build it.
The financial outcome may not have been what he'd imagined.
The ending definitely wasn't.
But the business mattered.
And that's why losing it hurt.
What Happens to BlackOvis Now?
At the time of this interview, there were still unanswered questions.
Remaining inventory was moving through the bankruptcy process.
Assets could potentially be purchased.
The BlackOvis name and website had value.
Someone could potentially try to revive them.
Kendall didn't know what would happen.
His immediate focus was simpler.
Finish what he could.
Help where he could.
Get some closure.
Then figure out what came next.
The End of BlackOvis and Camofire
Camofire began with two friends trying to create a hunting deal website during the financial crisis.
It grew out of a basement.
Then a garage.
Then warehouses.
Then millions in revenue.
BlackOvis followed.
Employees joined.
Brands joined.
Customers joined.
Private equity entered.
Control changed.
Debt increased.
Inventory grew.
The company tried to restructure.
The bank relationship deteriorated.
The board voted.
Chapter 7 was filed.
Then a founder who thought he was walking away ended up spending months inside the empty shell of his company trying to clean up what was left.
That's the complete arc Kendall wanted to explain.
Not because his perspective is the only perspective.
Not because everyone affected by the bankruptcy has to agree with him.
But because after 17 years of building BlackOvis and Camofire, he wanted people to understand what the experience looked like from where he stood.
FAQ's
What happened after BlackOvis filed bankruptcy?
After the Chapter 7 filing, the company's assets came under the bankruptcy process. Kendall says he continued working with the trustee, former employees and vendors to organize and move inventory, clear the warehouse and help qualifying companies pursue recovery of recently delivered product.
Why did BlackOvis file Chapter 7 instead of Chapter 11?
According to Kendall, Chapter 11 was considered too expensive and would have required additional cash and continued restructuring negotiations. The decision was ultimately made to pursue Chapter 7 liquidation instead.
Did BlackOvis employees receive severance?
According to Kendall, the company used available funds to provide severance payments to employees before the Chapter 7 filing.
How much severance did Kendall Card receive?
Kendall says his severance was approximately $3,900 after he had voluntarily reduced his salary while stepping away from day-to-day operations. He says he gave that money away to help others.
Why was Kendall still responsible for the BlackOvis warehouse?
Kendall says he discovered shortly before bankruptcy that he and Mark were still personally tied to the warehouse lease rather than the obligation having been fully transferred to the newer corporate entity.
Did Kendall Card personally pay former BlackOvis employees after bankruptcy?
Kendall says he paid former employees out of his own pocket to help organize inventory, move products and prepare the warehouse after the bankruptcy filing.
Did vendors get BlackOvis inventory back?
Some did. Kendall says he helped certain vendors identify recently delivered inventory that might qualify for reclamation under bankruptcy law and assisted them with information needed to pursue those claims.
What happened to the remaining BlackOvis inventory?
The remaining inventory was moved into another warehouse and remained part of the bankruptcy estate, where it could ultimately be sold through the court process.
Could BlackOvis come back?
At the time of the interview, Kendall said he didn't know. The brand name, website and other assets could potentially be acquired by another party through the bankruptcy process.
What did Kendall Card say he learned from BlackOvis?
Kendall says the experience taught him to be more deliberate about business partners, control, outside investment, personal guarantees, communication and defining what success actually means before building another company.
Is Kendall Card still involved with BlackOvis?
The original BlackOvis and Camofire businesses filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Kendall's involvement afterward centered on helping with the bankruptcy aftermath, warehouse obligations, vendors and the court process rather than continuing to operate the original business.
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First Generation Bowhunter tells the stories, lessons and realities behind bowhunting and the outdoor industry.
Hosted by Adam Buchanan, the show features conversations with hunters, founders and industry leaders alongside the experiences of figuring things out as a first-generation bowhunter.
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