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Noom, a well being teaching platform valued at $3.7 billion final yr, 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 folks, which is a discount that principally impacts its teaching staff. It’s the second layoff impacting Noom’s teaching staff in a matter of months, impacting tons of of workers.
“Noom has skilled extraordinary progress over the previous a number of years, and it’s important that we’re structured in a approach that permits us to proceed rising over the long run,” a Noom spokesperson mentioned over e-mail. “We just lately made the troublesome determination to scale back the variety of Noom workers. 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 identified for its controversial method to weight reduction and weight-reduction plan. Now, nonetheless, it’s exhibiting tensions from a personnel entrance. Noom’s scaleback of its teaching providers suggests a departure from the platform’s authentic pitch, which was to mix clever vitamin with train teaching. In 2020, Noom hit $400 million in income utilizing this technique. 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 very least thought, about teaching as its technique.
“Welcome to the Noomily,” Noom’s web site reads. “Our coaches information customers by the ups and downs of the load loss journey with empathy and compassion. They assist customers higher perceive themselves by personalised motion plans which can be primarily based on their particular person targets, preferences, and life-style.”
The touchdown web page for coaches goes on to elucidate the each day lifetime of a Noom coach, which ranges from serving to purchasers develop “a wholesome life-style” and “contribute to the expansion of one thing wonderful.” Coaches are capable of enroll in well being plans after 90 days of employment, the web site mentioned.
Now, nonetheless, that promoting has a special tone. The corporate is reportedly transferring extra to scheduled video calling as a substitute of dwell chat.
In response to a memo obtained by TechCrunch, Noom co-founders Artem Petakov and Saeju Jeong addressed the layoffs to workers and mentioned that it was essential for the corporate to “handle bills, enhance effectivity and be more practical about how we obtain our mission” regardless of “considerably bettering” firm financials.
“As we speak’s choices put us able the place we are able to proceed to put massive bets for the subsequent yr, and innovate and develop within the years forward,” the co-founders wrote within the inner memo. As we speak’s layoff comes proper as the corporate’s CFO, Mike Noonan, leaves to hitch TripAdvisor, the Wall Avenue Journal reviews. A Noom spokesperson mentioned over e-mail that the layoffs and CFO departure are two “separate, unrelated bulletins.”
Within the inner memo, the co-founders went on to say that the startup‘s massive wager is targeted 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 wager that has the potential to dramatically develop our buyer base.”
“Lastly, over the subsequent few days, we may even see unkind headlines, however ask that you just preserve deal with what’s most necessary now: caring for our departing colleagues like household, by treating them with humanity and respect,” the co-founders wrote.
The corporate was final identified to be reportedly planning for a 2022 IPO, at a $10 billion valuation.
Present and former Noom workers 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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