Bestow, a life insurance startup based in Dallas, TX, laid off around 14% of its staff last week.
The downsizing affects some 41 employees. Bestow co-founder and CEO Melbourne O’Banion explained in a statement that the layoffs were in response “to the changing market conditions.”
“We are grateful for their many contributions and sad to see them go,” the CEO’s statement continued.
The Dallas Morning News reported that news of the layoffs was shared individually with each affected employee; according to the company, it “felt it was the most respectful way to communicate to each team member.” Each laid-off employee will be given a severance package, COBRA health insurance and access to free mental health services.
Apart from severance pay and the benefits, Bestow is also allowing its laid-off staff to keep laptops and other work equipment, and is providing them with an employment outplacement service to help them secure new jobs.
News of the redundancy comes months after Bestow announced its plans to hire up to 150 more employees in 2022. The startup was looking to build on its strong revenue growth over the past couple of years, having doubled its revenue year-over-year in 2021, The Dallas Morning News said.
According to CrunchBase, Bestow has drawn over $137.5 million in private equity funding over four funding rounds since 2017.
In December of last year, Bestow entered into a partnership with financial services firm Equitable to launch Term-in-10, a new, entirely digital term life insurance offering. In a release, Bestow said that Term-in-10 was designed for Equitable to combine digital distribution with the customized support of a financial professional.
