Sequoia’s new year resolution: Shrink headcount

A few days ago, The Marker released an update on the status of Israeli venture capital. It turns out that 28 funds have been hurt from the current economic downturn. More than 7 funds have executed lay-offs in more than five portfolio companies each. One of the most impacted funds was Pitango, Israel’s largest VC fund, which closed one portfolio company (Negevtech), seven portcos laid off employees and three companies were sold for a loss. Sequoia is not in a much different condition. The fund has reportedly laid off more than 500 people in its global portfolio, and five Israeli start ups have been impacted. In the post “The Sequoia Layoff  Scorecard” Om Malik reports on the scope of the lay-offs made by Sequoia (courtesy of Brendan Gahan and  Susie Lin): sequoia Among the Israeli companies that were hit by the recent wave were Personata, ScaleMP, Amobee, Pontis and Discretix. The deepest cut was made by online shoe retailer Zappos, who eliminated 128 posititons.  Sequoia Israel has been relatively successful so far, with more than eight successful exits.

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January 6, 2009 | Comments
Filed Under Zvika Netter, semingo, velingo

 

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  • Mulligan Gator
    New Year’s Resolutions? Forget it! Resolutions are always made on January 1 and broken on January 2. So, this year I’ve decided I’m not making any — that way I won’t feel guilty about it! I’m like you Marjorie, I’ve been myself for far too many years to care if someone doesn’t like me. I’m happier being around those that are friends and know me and respect me for what and who I am. I'm happier just looking at kids beds without buying any. I guess I’ll say “to each his own”.
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