Noom, a well being teaching platform valued at $3.7 billion last year, is shedding a portion of employees for the second time in a matter of months, TechCrunch has realized from sources.
Noom has laid off 10% of its employees, or round 500 individuals, which is a discount that principally impacts its teaching group. It’s the second layoff impacting Noom’s teaching group in a matter of months, impacting a whole bunch of staff. Sources say that Noom has practically halved its variety of coaches because the starting of the yr, which seems to at present be round 1,000 coaches.
“Noom has skilled extraordinary progress over the previous a number of years, and it’s important that we’re structured in a method that permits us to proceed rising over the long run,” a Noom spokesperson mentioned over e-mail. “We lately made the tough choice to cut back the variety of Noom staff. We’re deeply grateful for his or her contributions to Noom, and we want them continued success.” Noom declined to reply questions relating to scale of layoffs, separation packages and technique past this assertion.
The startup, which has raised over $650 million in funding since launching in 2008, is partially recognized for its controversial approach to weight loss and dieting. Now, nevertheless, it’s exhibiting tensions from a personnel entrance. Noom’s scaleback of its teaching providers suggests a departure from the platform’s unique pitch, which was to mix clever vitamin with train teaching. In 2020, Noom hit $400 million in revenue using this strategy. One yr later, Noom expanded its teaching providers by launching a psychological well being vertical.
Its present web site reveals a glimpse of how Noom thinks, or at the least thought, about teaching as its technique.
“Welcome to the Noomily,” Noom’s website reads. “Our coaches information customers by means of the ups and downs of the load loss journey with empathy and compassion. They assist customers higher perceive themselves by means of customized motion plans which are primarily based on their particular person objectives, preferences, and way of life.”
The touchdown web page for coaches goes on to clarify the day by day lifetime of a Noom coach, which ranges from serving to shoppers develop “a wholesome way of life” and “contribute to the expansion of one thing superb.” Coaches are capable of enroll in well being plans after 90 days of employment, the web site mentioned.
Now, nevertheless, that promoting has a unique tone. The corporate is reportedly shifting extra to scheduled video calling as a substitute of dwell chat.
In keeping with a memo obtained by TechCrunch, Noom co-founders Artem Petakov and Saeju Jeong addressed the layoffs to staff and mentioned that it was vital for the corporate to “handle bills, enhance effectivity and be simpler about how we obtain our mission” regardless of “considerably bettering” firm financials.
“At present’s choices put us ready the place we will proceed to put large bets for the subsequent yr, and innovate and develop within the years forward,” the co-founders wrote within the inside memo. At present’s layoff comes proper as the corporate’s CFO, Mike Noonan, leaves to affix TripAdvisor, The Wall Street Journal reports. A Noom spokesperson mentioned over e-mail that the layoffs and CFO departure are two “separate, unrelated bulletins.”
Within the inside memo, the co-founders went on to say that the startup’s large guess is concentrated on making a extra complete thoughts and physique platform with the next diploma of personalization. The co-founders nodded to their enterprise providing as “one other guess that has the potential to dramatically increase our buyer base.”
“Lastly, over the subsequent few days, we may even see unkind headlines, however ask that you just keep give attention to what’s most essential now: caring for our departing colleagues like household, by treating them with humanity and respect,” the co-founders wrote.
The corporate was final recognized to be reportedly planning for a 2022 IPO, at a $10 billion valuation.
Present and former Noom staff can contact Natasha Mascarenhas by e-mail at [email protected] or on Sign, a safe encrypted messaging app, at 925 271 0912.
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