Outschool, which raised a Series B, C and D in 12 months, lays off 18% of workforce

Outschool, a marketplace for kid-friendly, virtual after-school programs, has laid off 31 people or 18% of its workforce, CEO Amir Nathoo confirmed to TechCrunch over a text message. The layoff, conducted last month, comes after a period of rapid fundraising for Outschool. The firm raised it's Series B, C, and D in a 12-month period, most recently growing its valuation to $3 billion after hitting a $1 billion valuation just four months earlier.

The capital was used to help Outschool grow from an early-stage startup into a growth-stage company. In October 2021, the company announced it had attracted over $100 million in bookings on its platform. Nathoo then explained the need to staff up quickly to meet unprecedented demand; growing from 25 employees to 164. Now, the co-founder said, “it’s no secret that market conditions have rapidly shifted.”

“We recognized the need to be more defensive going into the second half of the year,” Nathoo said. “This was one of the most difficult decisions I have had to make in my career but we have tried to do right by some truly talented and amazing people.”

source-techcrunch.com/2022/07/05/outschool-which-raised-a-series-b-c-and-d-in-12-months-lays-off-18-of-workforce/