Less than a week after laying off a bunch of employees, the CEO of JustPark has now left the company
JustPark CEO Alex Stephany, a well-known face in the London startup scene, is departing after three years in charge. He will be replaced by Anthony Eskinazi who founded the company in 2006.
Stephany told Business Insider that it was "absolutely his decision" to leave, adding that he's looking to move to the US to gain experience at an American tech company.
"I'll be making a rigorous search in the coming months with a view to finding a new challenge at a transformative tech business solving a big and complex problem," he said. "Since such a search will be very time-consuming it wouldn't have been fair on the team to have conducted it while still CEO of JustPark."
Stephany will continue to advise the JustPark board.
The company, one of the hottest startups in London according to Wired, said Eskinazi will now be tasked with overseeing the refocusing of the business around JustPark's core pre-book parking service, which gives drivers instant access to a network of over 180,000 parking spaces across the UK.
Layoffs
JustPark currently employs 44 people, according to LinkedIn. But a source told Business Insider on Monday that around 20 people were being made redundant. Stephany denied the number was this high, claiming it was more like 10.
Referring to the layoffs, JustPark today said it has "restructured the organisation to prepare the firm for the next phase of growth."
Over the last few years, the company (formerly ParkatmyHouse.com) has received investment from multiple sources, including BMW i Ventures, a CrowdCube crowdfunding campaign and traditional venture capitalists like Index Ventures. Total funding in JustPark stands at more than $5.7 million (£3.75 million).
While the idea has been well received, JustPark has been quiet on how much money it has been spending on marketing campaigns and hiring, raising suspicions that it could be spending more than it's taking.
On Monday, Stephany said JustPark has revenues that are now "significantly into seven figures and more than doubling year-on-year."
The company today admitted that it is not yet profitable - something it hopes to change in 2016.
Eskinazi said: "Alex has made an incredible contribution to the business. Under his 3 year leadership as CEO, Alex has helped to grow revenue 10-fold, raised investment from tier 1 venture capitalists, built a truly stellar team from scratch, and pulled off the largest equity crowdfunding for a startup in history. Alex will be able to offer invaluable ongoing support to JustPark in his capacity as a board advisor.
He added: "I am very excited to be taking the helm at JustPark as the company gets ready for the next phase of growth. We believe we have all the right ingredients in place to continue our mission of taking the pain out of parking in cities for good and look forward to the challenge of making that vision a reality.
Stephany maintained that JustPark has a "clear route to profitability" and a "very bright future ahead".
"Anthony has unrivalled knowledge of parking technology, knows this business inside out, and will be a strong leader for the company moving forward," said Stephany. "I remain a huge JustPark fan and am looking forward to continuing to support the management team as a board advisor. I've enjoyed every minute of building a high-growth business at JustPark."