For a brief, wondrous moment in 2021, Mike Richardson’s stock in the Canadian firm now known as Tenet Fintech Group was worth millions.

Riding a wave of hype, shares in the Quebec financial tech company had gone from being valued at less than $1 on the Canadian Securities Exchange to about $13.50 in just one year. Investors were primed to expect “billion dollar revenue opportunities” and a possible “moonshot.”