Joyable, a small startup focused on helping people overcome social anxiety, has laid off 20 people, or half of its staff, Fortune has learned.The company is backed by $10 million in funding from Thrive Capital and Harrison Metal.
Co-founder and CEO Peter Shalek confirms the layoffs, noting the way for Joyable to reach the most people is to make its services as affordable as possible. The company has worked with 500,000 people with a clinical level of anxiety or depression, Shalek says.
Joyable made the layoffs as part of a shift in its business model from consumer-facing to enterprise. It will partner with employers, insurers, and providers to reduce the cost of its services. “We believe that our evolved strategy will allow us to reach and help the most people,” Shalek says.
Here is his Shalek’s full statement on the change:
We let a number of talented people and friends go this week. We did this in order to refocus our efforts on partnering with employers, insurers, and providers to increase access to evidence-based mental health care and to reduce costs. We are positioned financially to pursue this new strategy over the next several years. We’ve built a product known for having the best engagement and outcomes of any mental health-focused digital therapeutic, and we believe that our evolved strategy will allow us to reach and help the most people.
