Digital marketing startup Metigy placed in administration with the loss of 75 jobs

Metigy, an adtech startup offering AI-powered marketing solutions for small businesses has been placed in the hands of administrators, with the loss of 75 jobs.

Its collapse comes just 20 months after the business raised $20 million in a Series B round led by Cygnet Capital amid ambitions to go global.

Sydney insolvency and restructuring firm Cathro & Partners were reportedly handed control of the business on Friday, July 29.

Metigy’s Twitter account took a sanguine view on Monday morning, perhaps before the company’s 75 staff were informed on the news.

New week, new month, what are your tips for keeping calm on a Monday? 🚀📓☕

— Metigy (@metigy) July 31, 2022

Metigy was founded in 2015 by former We Are Social managing partner David Fairfull, and Johnson Lin, with the aim of giving small businesses access to the same data and strategic insights driving some of the world’s greatest marketing teams.

The platform offers real-time data from social and digital advertising channels into easy-to-understand insights and recommendations.

Fairfull, the company’s CEO, said that the time of its $20 million raise that: “half of all small businesses fail within the first two years, and marketing — or a lack of effective marketing — is always one of the key reasons.”

Metigy’s backers included Regal Funds Management, OC Funds, Five V Venture Capital, and Thorney, which added to early-stage investments from Cygnet, CP Ventures and We Are Social.

The reasons behind the demise of Metigy are unknown. As recently as May, the company’s PR firm was touting company executives for commentary. The PR firm did not respond to Startup Daily’s request for comment.

Metigy did not respond to Startup Daily’s request for comment after the site’s chatbot sought more details.

Cathro & Partners did not respond to Startup Daily’s request for comment.

While the Metigy website still says “We’re hiring!” many of company’s employees took to LinkedIn to express their sadness and shock at the company’s sudden demise and begin the hunt for new jobs.

Staff  shell-shocked

Metigy’s product team leader Akhila Bhatt said she didn’t expect to weeks ago that she’d be writing that the business was in administration.

“All of us employees were informed today and we are shell-shocked to say the least,” she wrote.

“It’s heartbreaking to have our journey cut short so early, when I could see that we were turning a corner with the product in the last few months and what was coming up in the next few months.”

Lawyer Myra Beal, who left legal firm Herbert Smith Freehills less than 12 months ago to become Metigy’s Chief of Staff and General Counsel, said: “My heart breaks for the 75 amazing and talented employees that have been let down today. If you are a tech company looking for great talent please reach out to me directly to discuss further. I can arrange introductions to members of our team and provide further information as required.”

Clare Riley, who joined Metigy 20 months ago, was about to take on a new role leading the company’s branding and communications.

“Today I’m unemployed, along with my 75 brilliant colleagues 💔 We’re pretty shell-shocked,” she wrote.

“It’s not because we didn’t care enough or because we did a bad job or the market conditions weren’t in our favour – and that will always be the toughest thing to deal with when you work as hard as we did.

“I am beyond grateful to have met this group of people who I now call friends and I’m so sad that we don’t get to continue on this rollercoaster together. My heart is always in startup land regardless of how hard it gets. It’s an experience that teaches us so much about ourselves and I will always choose it.”

Metigy’s slide into administration follows in the footsteps Sydney proptech startup Yabonza, which last week placed in the hands of administrators after running out of capital, having raised more than $15 million over five years.