Thinkific’s rebound continues down a bumpy path as the Vancouver technology firm this week laid off several dozen more staff.
The BC-born cloud-based software platform, which enables entrepreneurs and businesses to create and sell digital learning products, has announced another reduction in workforce.
“We closed the fourth quarter as expected, and with the initiatives we announced today, profitability is in sight,” stated Greg Smith, Co-Founder and CEO of Thinkific.
Last March, Thinkific laid off 100 staff members, which was at the time 20% of the company’s total, a figure that had ballooned from less than 300 in early 2021 to 500 just one year later.
Thinkific went public in 2021 on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “THNC” with shares rising as high as $19.47 in 2021, giving Thinkific a peak market capitalization of over $2 billion.
However, Unicorn status was fleeting. At the time of the first layoffs, THNC was trading at less than $3 per share.
Following the layoffs, Thinkific bolstered its leadership team in September in an effort to rebound.
But by December, Techcouver revealed that Thinkific was quietly letting go of more staff, and shares in the company were down to just $2.
Terminating more than 70 positions this week, Thinkific is now down to roughly where it was in the first quarter of 2021, with about 300 workers.
“We are grateful to our team for creating our exceptional culture, industry-leading products, and for working to ensure the success of our Creators,” Smith stated.
Thinkific recently launched Communities, a new learning product “to supercharge how creators engage with, monetize, and retain their audience.” The company also appointed Steve Krenzer to the role of President.
“My mandate as Thinkific’s President is clear: to drive profitability and growth,” Krenzer said. “The steps we have taken today, while difficult, will sharpen our focus, and are critical to us executing on our long-term business strategy.”
Though it is little consolation for shareholders and the terminated, Thinkific is hardly the only BC tech firm to lay off staff within the last year: Dapper Labs, Hootsuite, and Unbounce have endured similar post-Pandemic hardship.
Shares spiked more than 20% on news of Thinkific’s reorganization. The company will be reporting its fourth quarter and year end financial and operational results for 2022 on February 22.
Thinkific was founded in Vancouver in 2012.
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