In the past month, 4 of Evernote’s top executives have left the company, according to a TechCrunch report.
The once-popular productivity app has struggled to reassert its relevance, limping through several rounds of downsizing and employee departure. But since the company is rumored to be on the verge of a new fundraising, this loss is particularly devastating.
Nothing good lasts forEver-note
In 2012, Evernote was a Silicon Valley darling valued at more than $1B that was tripling its user base annually and adding 40k new users a day.
But some questionable strategic decisions — like selling $199 leather messenger bags, and business socks — led to a 2015 overhaul that included the closure of 3 of 10 offices, the firing of 18% of their workforce, and the replacement of their CEO.
Evernote’s in big trouble, but it’s a bargain for users
Evernote clawed its way back to cash-flow positivity by 2017, but despite the company’s slight recovery, it never returned to its original popularity.
Before the defections, the ’Note planned to raise cash in a ‘down-round’ (i.e. valued lower than before), but the source that spoke to TechCrunch insisted that “Evernote is in a death spiral.”
After news of the CTO, CFO, CPO, and HR chief’s departure broke yesterday, Evernote reduced the price of its Premium subscription from $70 to $42 to hold onto subscribers. But free alternatives like Microsoft OneNote and Google Keep will make paying subscribers hard to find.