The San Francisco-based startup had been on an IPO track but expanded “faster than we could train, support and develop everyone,” according to a company memo obtained by Inman.
Saying it expanded faster than it could train, support and develop recent hires, real estate technology startup Side is shedding about 10 percent of its workforce to prepare for the potential short-term impacts of “volatility in the market,” founder and CEO Guy Gal said in an email to employees Wednesday.
San Francisco-based Side, which provides branding and technology to independent brokerages and often serves as the broker of record for high-performing agent teams and independent brokerages, said last summer that it was on track to go public after raising more than $250 million in funding, including a round that valued the company at $2.5 billion. In March 2021, Side achieved “unicorn” status after announcing a $150 million funding round that valued it at more than $1 billion.
But this year’s rapid runup in mortgage rates has created uncertainty for many real estate and mortgage companies, as economists revise their forecasts for home sales this year and next.
Guy Gal
“While demand for what we do continues to grow and our 2022 growth forecast is strong, the accelerated pace of our expansion and hiring brought complexities and challenges that slowed us down,” Gal said in an email to employees reviewed by Inman. “We expanded the team faster than we could train, support and develop everyone to meet the demands of changing roles and processes.”
On top of that, Gal said, “the economy is shifting, with economists forecasting volatility in the marketplace. A softer market could be good news for Side, as it is likely to increase demand for our platform. However, we have to prepare for potential short-term impact, which means we need to focus on investing in our long-term success through this period of volatility.”
In a written statement provided to Inman, Gal…