Zenefits lays off 45% of it's staff

[juan917]

This is a company that was once "valued" at 4.5B and now, just like that 430 people are out of a job. This is why I pursue fastlane, putting your livelihood into the hands of a single business just isn't a smart move

Zenefits went from a $4.5 billion valuation to massive layoffs in less than two years

 

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[Argue]

Giving up control is like letting your 4 year old manage your finances. #Control

 

[G-Man]

There are lessons galore here, beyond just "don't rely on a job"

Don't commit fraud
"it had been allowing unlicensed brokers to sell insurance in several states and, shortly thereafter, that it had created a software to help brokers cheat on state licensing programs."

Value comes from iterative repeatable processes, not pie-in-the-sky promises
"Zenefits’ recklessness seems to have been merely the worst symptom of a larger sickness that infected the company,” notes one analysis that cited former employees and others who worked closely with the management team. “That sickness: Zenefits was a company consumed by impossible expectations. In return for fund-raising at a stratospheric value, [CEO Parker] Conrad promised the moon to investors.”

Sales first. Overhead later.
"In 2015, Zenefits grew too quickly, hiring employees to support revenue projections that far surpass where we are today. Today’s action aligns our costs more closely to our business realities and gives us the runway we need to build the business properly for the long term."

This kind of shit is everywhere right now, and it repeats itself over and over because human nature hasn't changed.

 

[lowtek]

You can definitely get wealthy being an employee. If I'm not mistaken, the first handful of employees at Facebook are filthy stinking rich right now. Not bad for putting your faith into ol' Marky Mark.

You are also not guaranteed to become rich living that e-Life. You could end up with nothing but heartache and a bunch of family members saying "see I told you so".

It's perfectly rational to take a job making a quarter million a year and eschew the entrepreneurial path that could pay nothing, or could pay millions. In the calculation of expectation value there is a lot of wiggle room in the probability of a given outcome.

That being said, I can't imagine an employer that would get me to go back to being an employee. But I don't fault people for not following the same path.

 

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[dude_abides]

This is a company that was once "valued" at 4.5B and now, just like that 430 people are out of a job. This is why I pursue fastlane, putting your livelihood into the hands of a single business just isn't a smart move

Zenefits went from a $4.5 billion valuation to massive layoffs in less than two years

Typically when a large corporation has a layoff, those let go get a nice severance, sometimes equivalent to a half-year salary. Not a bad cushion if you're looking to launch a fastlane business, or just take time to experiment.