Cameo, Celebrity Video Shout-Out App, Lays Off 25% of Its Employees

variety.com:

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorCameo, a startup that sells customized video shout-outs from celebrities that was valued last year at about $1 billion, has made major layoffs after a slowdown in business.The company laid off close to 100 staffers, representing 25% of its headcount.

CEO Steven Galanis confirmed the cuts, citing the need to “right-size” the business after its fortunes reversed in the wake of a surge driven by the COVID-19 pandemic.In 2020, Cameo claimed it generated about $100 million in gross revenue — up 4.5 times from the year prior.

Evidently, the pace of its sales has considerably cooled off since then.In a statement from Galanis provided to Variety, the CEO said, “To support both fan and talent demand during the pandemic lockdowns, Cameo’s headcount exploded from just over 100 to nearly 400.

We hired a lot of people quickly, and market conditions have rapidly changed since then. Accordingly, we have right-sized the business to best reflect the new realities.” Galanis continued, “The decision to reduce our headcount was a painful but necessary course correction to ensure that we regain focus as well as achieve the agility to navigate new challenges, the ability to optimize our financial resources, and time and space to nurture newer business segments like Cameo for Business, Represent and web3 that we believe will be as big as the core business that put us on the map.