Clubhouse, the app that sparked a wave of audio-only features, is laying off more than 50 percent of its staff. The app’s co-founders, Paul Davison and Rohan Seth, shared the news in a note to employees, where they emphasized the need for a “reset” for the company in the post-virus era.
“As the world opens up post-Covid, it has become difficult for many people to find their Clubhouse friends and adapt long conversations into their daily lives,” the founders wrote. “To find its role in the world, the product needs to evolve. This requires a period of change.”
Davison and Seth say in their memo that they haven’t been able to make things work with the current size of the Clubhouse team, noting that it is “difficult” to “communicate strategy to cross-functional teams” and “make quick changes when each deck owns a different set of products.” They believe a smaller, “product focused” team should help remedy this.
However, Clubhouse has struggled to stay relevant since then, with Twitter Spaces largely taking over the audio-only space. As Clubhouse looks to evolve to adapt to the changing technology landscape, the Application launch feature It called Homes last August, which it describes as a dedicated chat space where users can “make new friends through existing friend groups in a more intimate environment.”
“We have a clear vision of what Clubhouse 2.0 looks like and believe that with a leaner, leaner team, we’ll be able to iterate the details faster, build the right product, and honor the teammates who helped us get here,” says Seth.