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OK, OK, I apologize, it's a bad joke. Still, the rapid demise of the online-checkout startup Fast, which had raised more than $100 million, has been a hot topic this week in Silicon Valley and beyond. As recently as February, the company was talking about doubling its head count from 390 to close to 800 by the end of the year. Instead, the number will go to zero.
The majority of startups fail, of course. Fast was operating in an increasingly competitive sector. "There are only so many checkout solutions that the world can handle," one VC told Insider. And in the aftermath of Fast's sudden closure, one investor said he'd back its founder and CEO Domm Holland again if he had the chance.
But Fast's lavish spending and Holland's brazen persona have made the startup's demise especially striking, especially against a backdrop of fintechs getting pummeled in the public markets.
Kylie Robison, who's been covering this implosion all week, takes us inside her reporting:
What are your sources saying went wrong at Fast?
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Usually in the tech sector, something new starts out as a project, then it grows to become big enough to be its own team and has a leader. Fast did the opposite. The firm would hire a team and task it to build the next big feature with very little direction. My sources told me the company conflated hiring with scaling.
At the top, the CEO, Domm Holland, was overconfident and surrounded by a lot of people who never told him no, they said.
Is there anything you learned during your reporting that surprised you?
Much like everyone else following this story, I'd never seen such a striking cash burn. I was surprised to see that 60% of Fast's operating budget went to payroll. I knew this week Fast would likely lay off all their employees, as one source told me, rather than half.
However, I was surprised to hear the news that they'd shuttered instead, especially since Holland had dubbed himself "the world's fastest CEO." I didn't expect him to let go of the business that easily.
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What are you hearing from Fast employees right now?
They're devastated. A lot of them were very proud of the work they'd done at the company. Due to a lack of transparency from leadership, most of them didn't see this coming. So right now, they're looking to gain new employment and make sense of this very abrupt decision.
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Plus: Keep updated with the latest business news throughout your weekdays by checking out The Refresh from Insider, a dynamic audio news brief from the Insider newsroom. Listen here tomorrow.
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