Behind Zenius’ decision to let go of 200 employees

More: LinkAja is also looking at layoffs and a couple of senior executives have left Grab. [Read from your browser]( Daily Newsletter Hello {NAME} Every now and then, I get a reminder of how the whole startup game is such a tightrope balancing act. Today’s premium article is about Indonesia’s Zenius, which has raised a total of US$40 million in disclosed funding, with its most recent round in March. The edtech startup is laying off over 200 of its employees due to “macroeconomic conditions.” Global markets are indeed entering uncertain times, but when a rising star like Zenius moves swiftly to slash jobs, it emphasizes the stark realities of startup life. At least it looks like the company is doing right by its laid-off staff. Today we look at: - [Job cuts at Zenius]( as it works to ensure business sustainability - The US$10 million series A round of a Singaporean streetwear marketplace - Other newsy highlights such as LinkAja’s own layoffs conundrum and the departure of two senior execs from Grab’s fintech arm -- Winston --------------------------------------------------------------- THE BIG STORY [Indonesia’s Zenius lays off 200+ employees]( Two affected employees say that the edtech startup's content team is particularly impacted. --------------------------------------------------------------- PODCAST A career switch is one of the toughest things to do as a working professional. It often requires leaving a bulk of what you’ve learned behind and picking up a whole new set of skills to be an attractive hire. Nirusha Shetty - now a lead product manager at Grab - made three career switches before landing a role at the Singapore-headquartered tech giant. On [this episode]( of How to Get a Job at a Unicorn, she talks about her journey working in companies like Bosch and Boston Consulting Group, and shares tips for anyone looking to switch careers and work for a billion-dollar company. Listen here: [Spotify]( | [Apple Podcasts]( --------------------------------------------------------------- TRENDING NEWS [Indonesia’s LinkAja ‘reorganizing resources’ amid layoff rumors]( The fintech firm did not specify how many people or which departments are affected by the reorganization. [East Ventures co-leads $10m round of SG streetwear marketplace]( Novelship recently launched a crypto payment feature that resulted in US$200,000 worth of sales for its sneakers. [GIC leads $80m funding into Indonesia’s Bibit]( The investment app said it has reached millions of investors from 500 cities across the country. [Two top Grab executives exit amid restructuring]( Chris Yeo and Jeffrey Goh’s exits come amid a restructuring at Grab to narrow losses, Reuters reported. [Bolt Financial lays off a third of its staff]( The company had also abandoned plans to raise more funds at a US$14 billion valuation, the Economic Times reported. [Alibaba posts record-low quarterly growth since 2014]( Considering the uncertainties arising from the Covid-19 pandemic, the Chinese ecomerce major did not give a financial guidance for FYE 2023. --------------------------------------------------------------- EVENTS HAPPENING You can also check out a curated list of trending tech events [over here](. - *Free Event* Tech in Asia's Product Development Conference on June 8-9 The countdown begins - we're two weeks away from our flagship Product Development Conference! 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