TheLadders Archive

We’ve heard several unconfirmed reports today that there have been mass firings at TheLadders in NYC. There are also several comments on Twitter including from one employee who posted some comments from the actual conference room where the notices were given.

Product Manager Derek Tumolo noted on Twitter that at least 8 people were fired and what we’ve heard is that the total number is much higher. Many were visibly angry out on the street. We are also hearing that there are security guards stationed outside their headquarters building.

I have calls and emails into as many of the staff at TheLadders as I could find. I have not heard back yet but will update this story once I do.

If you are new to TheLadders, they offer a job board exclusively for jobs over $100,000/year. They earn revenue by charging employers for job postings and applicants for searching and applying. Here’s a video demo I captured with CEO Marc Cendella.

Update: Peter Kafka from AllThingsD was able to get the following quote from TheLadders:

“While demand for our service remains strong and we continue to grow, we regularly assess our business and the economic environment around us to ensure we remain a healthy, strong growing company. Given the current economic environment, we have made some adjustments, which includes a reduction in workforce. TheLadders.com is taking these steps to position the company for long term success.”

Last night at the NY Tech meeting, the companies who presented came back on stage for a 5-minute panel discussion. Below is a video of their advice for startups in NYC. The panelists included:

• AlleyCorp (Kevin Ryan, CEO)
• DailyCandy (Catherine Levene, COO)
• Etsy (Rob Kalin, CEO)
• Huffington Post (Betsy Morgan, CEO)
• IAC (Joey Levin, SVP/M&A)
• The Ladders (Marc Cenedella, CEO)
• Meetup (G.Whalin, CTO & M.Voskoboynikov, Lead)
• Mimeo (CEO Adam Slutsky)
• Thumbplay (VP/BD Chris Phenner)

TheLadders CEO Marc Cenedella took to the stage last night at the NY Tech meeting to discuss where TheLadders is. Basically they have continued their steady growth over the past couple of years and now boast 220+ employees. In March, they added new office space to handle all of the new employees. TheLadders is typically discussed as the largest and fastest growing tech company in NYC.

Highlights from the demo:

• The company is backed by Kevin Ryan – you know, the guy who had the 7 minute demo earlier in the evening
• TheLadders charges a fee to job seekers as well as charging companies to post jobs
• Most employees have two monitors, some have three
• They have a cool backend tool for newsletters that shows stats right on the newsletter
• They have a tool that takes resumes uploaded to TheLadders and converts them into simple, scrollable graphic files – this helps recruiters scan resumes

TheLadders Demo from allen stern on Vimeo.

TheLadders, the site that allows you to pay to view job listings for those seeking employment over $100k/yr, has announced office expansion plans in NYC today. The new location featuring 20,000 square feet at 205 Hudson Street joins TheLadders.com’s current 25,000-square-foot headquarters at 137 Varick Street.

Occupancy will be immediate and the new office will house the sales, recruiter relations and customer service teams.

The company has grown from 6 employees in 2004 to over 220 today. When they hosted Lunch 2.0 last fall, the HR director explained that they are looking to bring on 1-2 new people each week in 2008. Check out some of my photos of their office as well – most of the employees are setup with at least 2 monitors.