Multiple sources have reached out to BetaKit confirming that VarageSale today laid off 30 staff, on the company’s fourth birthday. Techvibes is reporting the same.
https://twitter.com/varagesale/status/692715324890689536/photo/1
However, our sources have indicated that those layoffs include VarageSale’s VP of Product, Ben Yoskovitz, and VP of Engineering, Marshall Gunter.
BetaKit has reached out to Yoskovitz, as well as VarageSale CEO and co-founder Carl Mercier, for comment. While Yoskovitz has declined to comment regarding VarageSale at this time, he did say, “I enjoy BetaKit a great deal.”
VarageSale was launched in May 2012 by Tami Zuckerman-Mercier, a kindergarten teacher, and Carl Mercier, her husband and was a serial entrepreneur. While originally based in Montreal, the company moved its headquarters to Toronto. By June, the company would be fending off rumours that its investors were pressuring them to move to the Valley.
Its listings marketplace for micro-communities has attracted attention from big investors like Version one Ventures, Real Ventures, and iNovia Capital. All three were part of Varagesale’s $34 million Series B in April.
“We’ve grown 400 percent since this time last year, and we will continue to build the best team possible to meet the expectation of our extremely passionate member base,” Mercier said at the time. “Toronto has great local talent pool to help build the team.”
Update: (01/28/16) It appears that VarageSale’s Head of Talent, Kevin Doiron, has also been let go. He has provided the below statement to BetaKit:
“I’m extremely proud of the exceptional team we put together at VarageSale. Working alongside so many smart, talented people (who all cared so much) made my time at VarageSale a highlight of my career.”
Update: (01/28/16) VarageSale CEO and co-founder Carl Mercier has responded to our request with the below statement.
“In an effort to streamline our operations, we unfortunately had to let go of 26 talented employees today. This decision was incredibly difficult, and we can’t thank these amazing people enough for their contribution. The result is ultimately what we believe we had to do to continue building towards our vision. We’re committed to helping our friends as much as we possibly can during this transition period. If you’re hiring, please send your open positions to vstalent@varagesale.com.”
Additional reporting on this story provided by Jessica Galang.