Notarize lays off 25% of its workforce

Notarize lays off 25% of its workforce

RON provider undergoes layoffs as it navigates slowing market conditions

June 17, 2022, 4:32 pm By Brooklee Han

Notarize CEO, Pat Kinsel publicly announced that his firm had laid off 25% of its workforce (110 employees) in a Twitter thread on Wednesday. This is the second time the 7-year-old, Boston-based remote online notarization (RON) firm has undergone layoffs. In 2019, Notarize was forced to undergo layoffs after financing fell through.

“We are exceptionally proud of the team we’ve built and they are leaving through no fault of their own – they are truly the best of the best. I will forever be grateful for the chance to work with them,” Kinsel wrote on Twitter. “The decision was mine. I take very seriously the commitments we’ve made to regulators, legislators, & industries who changed laws and policies to unlock the digital future we’re creating. I believe, Sequoia Capital, that this is a “crucible moment” & have made the decision to put Notarize on a path to profitability w/ our current capital so we can provide our service in perpetuity.”

Notarize has posted and is updating a list of “Notarize Alumni” who are now looking for work. Eliminated positions include a corporate onboarding manager, a solutions engineer, members of the closing operations, sales, and customer success teams, as well as several others.

With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic increasing the need and demand for RON services, and nearly all states and counties across the country approved emergency legislation legalizing RON, Notarize rapidly expanded.

In March 2021, Notarize announced it had raised $130 million in its Series D funding round, which was led by Canapi Ventures after experiencing 600% year-over-year growth. The funding round valued Notarize at $760 million, triple its valuation at the time of its $35 million Series C funding round a year prior, at the start of the pandemic.

“Our regulatory victories and partnerships have put the company in a fundamentally different position over the past two years, and our strategy must evolve,” Kinsel wrote in a statement. “We can no longer delay in addressing these issues. Additionally, the state of the economy and world events is creating a lot of uncertainty and putting significant pressure on businesses everywhere. While many of these factors propel Notarize’s business, they also change the company’s access to future investment and force us to re-evaluate what we can invest in and pursue.”

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Thanks for sharing this. They hung on longer than others based on the date of publish. Goes to show regardless of how you want to get the docs signed, if the demand isn’t there, it just ain’t happening! The fact one can sign a mortgage from a laptop doesn’t generate revenue for the borrower, or reduce their expenses and debt for that matter! Good post!

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At one point in the push for RON, people were writing that it might be fine for certain general notary work, but it would be a long time before it was accepted for real estate transactions. But inflation has mostly hit the real estate market, especially the market for refis. The timing of the layoffs suggest that either Notarize was doing a lot of real estate transactions, or was developing enhancements to it’s platform to better support real estate transactions (or both).

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IMO, they are overrated. Hope the investors get their money’s worth. One reason I’m not with them, too new and may not survive. At least Nexsys is owned by a company that has been around for at least 4O year.

I think the future is RON. Some companies will survive many will not. I received another recruiting email this morning from a large FNF related company.

My response to them:

“Thank you for reaching out. I just want to let you know that I am well equipped with the devices necessary for RON. Currently, I do mostly RON on my touch screen desktop at home, and for Hybrid I use Ipad Pro. I am considered an expert RON and Hybrid closer for real estate/mortgage loan transactions. I use Nexsys Clear Sign for all RON and Pavaso for hybrid. Both platforms are provided by title companies. They pay a flat fee for each closing and I don’t pay for anything else. I also have a device that I can use as a Laptop or a Tablet. I hope this little info helps.

Thank you and have a great day!”

This is just another example of RON business increase.

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Is notarize a fairly new company?

So sorry to hear of those layoffs, and it looks like CA’s RON approval is still lingering or the RON bill hearing is now dead. :frowning:

It is considered a startup.

“Notarize”

“After almost single-handedly creating the category, remote online notarization startup Notarize laid off 110 employees on June 15, with CEO Pat Kinsel citing economic uncertainty and access to future investment capital.”