Fast, a startup offering online checkout products, announced this afternoon that it will be closed. The company’s future has been in doubt for days after reports suggested that revenue growth in 2021 was modest, cash burn high and fundraising opportunities limited.
The information first reported the company’s conclusion. In a statement, the company said that as we made “great strides in our mission to make buying and selling seamless for everyone, we have made the difficult decision to close our doors.”
The company, founded by Domm Holland and Allison Barr Allen, billed itself as a “pioneer,” saying that not all of those parties made it to “the mountaintop,” claiming that while the startup failed, it made it “forever” change global online trade. How much credit the short-lived company can actually claim for its work in the one-click checkout market is far from clear, but at least that’s how Fast lives up to it: There’s more props to it than its business results might justified.
Fast posted a meager six-figure revenue in 2021 despite raking in a $102 million Series B led by Stripe. The company’s burn rate is said to be as high as $10 million per month, or simply a massive multiple of its revenue, let alone gross profit.
A company that implodes a year after hitting a nine-digit number won’t be an ordinary story this year, but startup failures come in degrees; This is a high profile crash. Others will be slower and less violent in their hold.
PitchBook data shows that Fast was last valued at around $580 million, based on cash inflow. For the employees, who now hold worthless options, the company’s closure comes as a shock. Whether the company’s founders were able to sell some stakes in the company’s massive Series B isn’t clear, but if they did, we’re hoping they’ll distribute the money to their former employees.
According to Crunchbase, the company has raised $124.5 million since its inception in 2019. Other investors besides Stripe include Index Ventures, Susa Ventures and Global Founders Capital.
As late as March 28, 2022, Fast signed deals like one with The Honest Company to implement one-click checkout for its customers. Earlier this year, NPR reported on how CEO Holland had his fair share of controversy in Australia before launching Fast. Holland’s former startup Tow.com.au, which aimed to be “the Uber of towing,” failed in what at least one person described as a “disaster.” NPR’s article noted that Holland’s former company “was embroiled in a multi-million dollar billing dispute with the Australian state government over towing and impound fees, which led to the startup’s liquidation in 2018.”
Meanwhile, community resources are already popping up in the wake of Fast’s death – including a list of former workers. A quick scan of social media reveals that a number of companies are looking to hire Fast. The talent market for start-up employees is still hot, so the impact on those laid off today may prove short-lived.
Fast’s conclusion comes after some other highly valued startups began to pull out. Layoffs are on the rise again on a broader basis in start-up country, and a well-known unicorn lowered its rating to better incentivize its employees. TechCrunch reported earlier today that Workrise – which was valued at $2.9 billion last year after a $300 million increase – reportedly laid off “hundreds” of employees. 2022 looks very different than 2021.