The first money came from a trade everyone dismissed

Everpoint priced, opened hot, and soared on day one. The TV panels loved it. “AI enterprise software, the next benchmark IPO,” one host declared live. Darren sat in a shabby co-working room and watched his phone with almost no expression. At 3:18 p.m., anonymous documents hit several financial desks: Everpoint’s “annual subscriptions” included a large number of cancellable trial accounts, several key customers had not signed long-term contracts, and revenue recognition had been pushed ahead of actual collection. The stock began to roll over. At 3:47, selling accelerated. By 4:00, with ten minutes left before Nasdaq close, the market understood this was not volatility. The valuation thesis was breaking in public.