Argyle, which wants to help companies and institutions gain access to employment records, has laid off a number of employees across all departments, TechCrunch has learned from sources. A company spokesperson confirmed the workforce cuts to TechCrunch, saying it was laying off 6.5 percent of the team, or 20 people.
The figure provided by Argyle does not represent contractors who may be affected by the layoff. A spokesman declined to offer further details on the number of affected contractors, if any, or what benefits, if any, have been provided to employees.
“Argyle’s continued move into the market, targeting enterprises instead of SMBs, requires a specific skill set, and the company made an adjustment to its team today,” the spokesperson wrote via email.” The same spokesperson said the company is still on track to double its workforce by the end of the year, hiring more than 30 open positions. Although the spokesperson didn’t say so directly, the statement suggested it was laying off people with more experience in small and medium-sized businesses and looking to hire more enterprise-focused people.
The startup raised a $20 million Series A in October 2020. then revealed that it processed 10 million user employment records per month. CEO and co-founder Shmulik Fishman said he wants to disrupt the process in which institutions buy records from third parties and instead bring user consent into the mix. The aim is to give employees more ownership of their data and make the whole process more transparent. Fishman hinted at his love for Plaid in an interview that same month, even naming the startup as a nod to other successful fintech companies branded around models.
Ironically, however, Plaid quickly turned from friend to foe. Months after Argyle received Serie A funding, Plaid has 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 users can easily access their employment records. The company then said it saw “10x growth” compared to the previous round. At last confirmation, Argyle served over 500,000 US 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 is credit-focused companies such as financial institutions, publicly traded banks, credit unions, insurance providers and any company that provides “extension of credit in all shapes, forms and sizes.”