Five months after a $55M Series B, fintech Argyle cuts jobs – TechCrunch

Argyle, which wants to help companies and institutions get access to employment records, has laid off a number of employees across all departments, TechCrunch has learned from sources. A spokesperson for the company confirmed the workforce reduction to TechCrunch, saying that it let go of 6.5% of the team, or 20 people.

The figure provided by Argyle does not represent contractors that could have been impacted by the layoff. A spokesperson declined to offer further details on the number of contractors impacted, if any, or what severance was provided to employees, if any.

“Argyle’s continued move upmarket, targeting enterprises instead of SMBs, requires a specific skill set and the company did make an adjustment to its team today,” the spokesperson wrote over email.” The same spokesperson said that the company is still on track to double its workforce by the end of the year, hiring for more than 30 open positions. While the spokesperson did not say it outright, the statement implies that it let go of people with more SMB experience and are looking to hire more enterprise-focused folks.

The startup raised a $20 million Series A in October 2020, then disclosing that it processed 10 million user employment records per month. CEO and co-founder Shmulik Fishman said he wanted to disrupt the process in which institutions buy records from third parties and instead bring user consent into the mix. The goal is to give employees more ownership over their data and make the whole process more transparent. Fishman hinted at a love for Plaid in an interview that same month, even crediting the startup’s name as a nod at other successful fintechs branded around patterns.

Ironically, though, Plaid has quickly gone from friend to foe. Months after Argyle landed Series A funding, Plaid announced the launch of income verification services.

This year, Argyle announced a $55 million Series B funding round and the launch of a self-service tool so that consumers can access their employment records with ease. The company then claimed it has experienced “10x growth” compared to its prior round. As of last confirmed, Argyle serves over 500,000 U.S. employers, including 60% of the Fortune 500 and “close to 100% of gig workers.”

In its early days, Argyle told FinLedger that its largest customer segment were companies focused on credit extension such as financial institutions, publicly traded banks, credit unions, insurance providers and any company that provides “credit extension in all shapes, forms and sizes.”