Mixed feelings:

On the "loan them the money" side:
- I like Rivendell's bikes
- I like Lord of the Rings
- I like Grant Peterson's "buy what you actually need" philosophy
- I like that Rivendell refuses to sell crap, they sell what actually works and will actually last

On the "you know what, they made this bed and they should lie in it" side, they have a brand that:
- is completely on trend and arguably the instigator of the the whole adventure bike / Golden Saddlery / retro / John Prolly / pseudo-rando / Crust bikes / wide tires thing that so very hot right now
- carries a completely disproportionate amount of awareness given how many bikes they actually sell
- enjoys an enormous amount of goodwill among cycling cognoscente of a certain ilk
- is well differentiated, can charge a premium and people will pay
- has one of the few genuinely well known CEOs / heads

...and they managed to screw it up. Hire a business manager, fer Pete's sake.