After elevating $ 150 million final month, music expertise agency Pollen is letting 150+ workers go

In April, the music, journey and expertise firm Pollen traveled $ 150 million in a Sequence C spherical.

This month, the corporate has made a variety of layoffs, in keeping with social media posts from former workers, indicating that the corporate, headquartered in London, has let over 150 workers go to the UK and US.

The corporate was based in 2014 by brothers Callum & Liam Negus-Fancey and gained two spectacular jobs within the UK in 2021, appointing Zeon Richards as Head of Hip Hop Partnerships and Christine Osazuwa as its Technique Director for Pollen Presents.

In response to a publish on LinkedIn, Osazuwa is likely one of the executives leaving the corporate.

MBW contacted Pollen for an announcement on the reported layoffs, and its co-founder and CEO Callum Negus-Fancey advised us that “as a part of the conclusion of our Sequence C spherical, we agreed on a brand new plan with our buyers, the place we’ll proceed to point out sturdy development, whereas the corporate achieves profitability extra shortly via better focus and reduces our prices by 15 % ”.

He added that “we have been operating a radical course of and there are not any extra deliberate adjustments.”

Pollen runs two choices: Pollen Presents, which curates experiences for purchasers throughout journey, music and extra; and Pollen +, which collaborates with promoters and music festivals to supply clients who guide via their platforms perks at occasions.

The corporate says it makes use of knowledge and buyer insights to create experiences which can be unique to its platform, and likewise collaborates with “the most important music festivals and types on the earth” to promote their experiences.

The corporate has created unique journey experiences with artists like J Balvin, Justin Bieber and Duran Duran and has additionally collaborated with folks like We Are FSTVL, Austin Metropolis Limits, Bonnaroo, C3, Electrical Zoo, Dwell Nation and extra.

Pollen introduced its Sequence C spherical in April, after elevating over $ 100 million in VC funding.

The corporate’s buyers embody Kindred, Northzone, Sienna Capital, Backed and Draper Spirit.

“As a part of the conclusion of our Sequence C spherical, we agreed on a brand new plan with our buyers, the place we’ll proceed to point out sturdy development whereas bringing the enterprise to profitability sooner via better focus and lowering our prices by 15 share.

Negus-Fancey, Pollen

In an announcement to MBW, Pollen’s co-founder and CEO Callum Negus-Fancey stated: “Within the present macroeconomic surroundings, buyers wish to see expertise corporations within the development stage have a transparent path to profitability.

“As a part of the conclusion of our Sequence C spherical, we agreed on a brand new plan with our buyers, the place we’ll proceed to point out sturdy development whereas bringing the enterprise to profitability sooner via better focus and lowering our prices by 15 share.

“This isn’t distinctive to Pollen. It’s a pattern that’s taking place throughout the expertise business as corporations alter their methods to adapt to those new market realities. We ran a radical course of and there are not any extra deliberate adjustments.”Music enterprise worldwide