Last week, we shared the news with you that Optify, the Seattle maker of marketing software, had hit the wall and laid off most of its employees. We reached out to execs at the Madrona-backed startup, and heard nothing.
Now, a few more details are emerging. The company wrote on its Web site this week that it has “made a strategic decision to maximize value of the assets and Intellectual Property of the company.” Essentially, the company is looking to sell off the remaining assets, and it has hired Gerbsman Partners to “solicit interest.”
“Optify will continue to support its customer base during the “Date Certain M&A Process” and will identify interested parties who will seek to maintain the business model and customer base going forward,” the company wrote.
It’s still unclear why Optify, which last summer pulled in an extra $2 million in funding, abruptly hit the wall. And at least one former employee, customer engagement specialist Alonso Chehade, said in a blog post that it was shocking and surreal.
“During a company meeting last week, at the end of one of our highest performing months, I received the crazy news alongside many of my co-workers that we were getting laid off,” Chehade writes. “There was complete silence as the news (was) delivered very fast. Despite the financial uncertainty that comes with being unemployed, it was a heartfelt moment for all of us to learn that we had to let go of a great product and a great team.”
Optify was founded in 2008 by Brian Goffman and Erez Barak. It raised a $6.1 million round in 2010 from Madrona Venture Group and Triangle Peak Partners, at the time saying that it was tracking more over 100 million Web pages per month in an effort to find new business leads for customers.
