Introduction
Airmeet is a leading marketing software provider headquartered in Bangalore, India. The company has been making waves in the marketing industry for quite some time and has managed to raise $50 million in Series B funding to date. Some of the prominent investors in the company include Accel Partners, Founders Fund and Sequoia Capital.
With its focus on virtual events, Airmeet has been transforming the way companies and individuals approach meetings, conferences and events. The platform has enabled remote team collaboration and networking opportunities for businesses around the world, helping organizations streamline their processes and improve productivity.
However, despite the immense potential of the company, recent reports have revealed that Airmeet has laid off 75 employees, which accounts for 30% of its workforce. The announcement of layoffs has not only shocked the industry but also left people questioning the future of the company. In this article, we take a closer look at Airmeet, its journey, reasons for layoffs, and opinions from the company stakeholders.
The Journey of Airmeet
The story of Airmeet began in 2019 when its founders, Lalit Mangal, Vinay Jaasti and Manoj Kumar, came together to disrupt the traditional event management space. Their goal was to create a platform that would enable individuals and businesses to host virtual events with ease. The platform would also provide a way for attendees to seamlessly participate in events from anywhere in the world.
The founders quickly raised $15 million in Series A funding, resulting in the company expanding its team and adding more features to the platform. The company’s focus on virtual events was timely considering the pandemic-driven shift to remote work and the cancellation of several in-person events around the world. By mid-2020, Airmeet had become one of the most popular virtual event platforms, hosting thousands of events every month.
Reasons for Layoffs
Despite the company’s promising growth trajectory, the management of Airmeet announced that they would be laying off 30% of their workforce. According to reports, the cost-cutting measures were necessitated by the uncertain economic environment resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on businesses globally.
Specifically, the pandemic negatively impacted the fundamentals of the company’s business model, as well as the overall virtual events market. For some time, revenues from virtual events had been on the rise, and with more companies embracing remote work, there was plenty of optimism about the future.
However, as the world slowly returns to normalcy, many businesses are finding ways to hold more in-person events, which has led to a reduction in demand for virtual event solutions. This situation has forced Airmeet to re-evaluate its strategy, leading to the unfortunate but necessary decision to lay off 75 employees.
Stakeholder Opinions
Airmeet CEO, Lalit Mangal, made a statement following the announcement of the layoffs, expressing his disappointment at the necessity of the move. However, he also highlighted that the company needed to adjust its cost structure to ensure its long-term success.
“We remain committed to our vision of transforming events and believe that we have the right team and strategy to execute on this mission. We regret that we had to take this decision, but it was necessary to keep ourselves well-positioned for the future,” Mangal said.
Many industry experts and analysts have commented on the announcement, expressing their support for the company. They note that the virtual events space is still growing and has tremendous potential, and that Airmeet still has a significant role to play in it. While the layoffs are undoubtedly a setback, they also represent an opportunity for the company to restructure and refocus its strategy to better align with current market trends.
Conclusion
While the layoffs at Airmeet are indeed an unfortunate occurrence, it is essential to look at them in the context of the current business environment. Many companies worldwide have been forced to make tough decisions that include downsizing, cost-cutting and even shutting down altogether.
As a company, Airmeet has had great success in the virtual events space, and its team is dedicated to the company’s vision of transforming events. With the right strategy, Airmeet will undoubtedly come out stronger and poised for future growth. It’s crucial to look beyond the current challenges and focus on the amazing potential of the virtual events industry and the innovative solutions Airmeet can provide.
