Bossa professional network designed for women in leadership positions, has cut 14% of staff, or 43 jobs today, saying in an email seen by TechCrunch that the move is a response to the economy and that the team is restructuring to focus more on the member experience. .
The layoff hit Chief’s US employees heavily, as the company’s recently launched UK presence is smaller. Around 262 employees remain with the company. Those who were affected received at least 12 weeks of compensation and continued medical insurance. Chief closed his New York office for today while employees process the news.
Principal co-founders Lindsay Kaplan and Carolyn Childers wrote the email to staff explaining the decision. Beyond attributing the “challenging macroeconomic environment” that has affected a host of tech startups over the past year, the duo highlighted four priorities for the business going forward: more in-person opportunities, personalization to support members, simplifying the digital experience, and lastly, continuing to “embed diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging into all aspects of the Chief experience.”
The latest priority the co-founders emphasized, bringing diversity to the entire Chief experience, comes less than a month after The New York Times. posted a story investigating the turmoil in the business over the perspective of some members that the Boss should speak out about social and economic issues affecting marginalized women. About 33% of Chief’s member base identifies as being of diverse origin, up from 35% in October. The company recently reached 20,000 members.
At TechCrunch Disrupt last year, Chief’s co-founders spoke about the “extra scrutiny” mission-driven companies receive. “For Lindsay and I, that’s always been like the cutting edge of everything we’ve thought about when thinking about the teams and the culture and what we want to build,” Childers said. “In fact, we’ve felt that more because we’re a mission-based company than because we’re female CEOs or founders.”
Kaplan added that the additional scrutiny “doesn’t feel like a time bomb. It is us making sure that we are always walking the path and practicing what we preach.”
Chief clearly wants staff, members, and the world to know that he is focused on the experience. The workforce reduction comes a week after the company announced it has hired another executive, Sujean Lee, a former chief experience officer at HypeBeast, as Chief’s first chief experience officer.
The company hit a $1.1 billion valuation in a matter of three years, last raising a $100 million Series B round led by Alphabet’s CapitalG in 2022. Like many others, valuations have been increasingly difficult to defend as the market worsens. For example, 70% of Chief members see their membership, which costs up to $7,900 a year, paid for by employers. Now those same employers are looking to cut spending and cutting the workforce themselves.
Chief declined to comment on the layoff and finances beyond email.
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