AngelList lays off a number of staff and cuts executive salaries
AngelList, a platform that connects angel investors to startups and has roughly $1.8 billion assets under management, has laid off a sizable number of staff and cut executive salaries across all departments, according to a source familiar with the company. AngelList declined to share the number of people who were laid off.
The layoffs, which happened last week, largely impacted the company's talent arm, which connects job-seekers with startups looking to hire. A source said that the layoffs came as a response to hiring freezes from tech startups waiting out the economic downturn.
A spokesperson from the company provided the following statement: "As the media has covered recently, startup fundings and recruiting have recently been impacted by the current crisis. We don't know how long the economic impacts will last, so we scaled back our costs to match. Unfortunately, that adjustment included layoffs. This was a difficult decision, but it sets up AngelList to continue our mission of helping startups succeed."
AngelList was founded in 2010 by Naval Ravikant and Babak Nivi, and has raised $26.2 million in known venture capital to date, according to Crunchbase. The company is composed of three different branches: one for angel investors, one for products waiting to be funded and one for job-seekers looking for their next gig at a startup.
AngelList formalizes the angel investing process a bit, wraps it up in a bow and gives you a place to talk with other friends about deal flow and the intricacies of investing. "Whether you're starting and scaling your own fund, or investing alongside established managers, we'll help you grow as a top investor," the website reads.
The company also has a landing page for people who want to start their own fund or syndicate, and offers resources like back office support for legal and regulatory filings or access to limited partners.
AngelList's talent function hosts more than 100,000 companies like Affirm, Twitch and Stripe that want to hire new talent. While the layoffs largely impact that team, sources say that the talent network will continue to exist, just with a slimmer staff.
AngelList's layoffs feel different than the other cuts we've seen across the startup world, largely from travel and hospitality companies. But, an economic downturn means less liquidity, and perhaps less energy to take bets on other companies in the form of cash. Plus, broader layoffs and hiring freezes from across the Valley trickle down pretty fast to the recruiting side. There might be more demand than ever from the job-seeker end, but that demand doesn't mean supply will appear overnight.
