Michele Romanow Clearco

New CEO of troubled Canadian e-commerce financier is U.S. finance veteran Andrew Curtis.

Clearco encountered a tough economy in Europe last year, leading to a pullout from international markets soon after its expansion. “You have a fundamentally strong business with attractive prospects, but which is going through some growing pains and facing a different macroeconomic environment than we’ve all been used to.” The situation is “dislocating and disruptive” but presents “extraordinary opportunities.” In return, it got a daily cut of its client revenues until the advance plus added fees were repaid. “I have been in plenty of situations like the one Clearco faces,” Mr. Prospective customers didn’t have to provide personal guarantees, give up equity or submit to credit checks, but did have to give access to their business accounts to Clearco, which assessed their economics and made automated financing offers. “We grew in too many markets, we were trying to build too many products.” Clearco’s job cuts this week affect all areas and levels and bring Clearco’s ranks to 140 people, from 500 last July. Both were among the earlier companies last year to enact deep job cuts after tech valuations crashed and interest rates rose: Vancouver’s Thinkific cut 100 jobs, or 20 per cent of staff in March. Curtis worked on mergers and acquisitions with Merrill Lynch & Co and Lazard Frères, then served as a portfolio manager with hedge fund Sandelman and was head of credit with private equity firm Z Capital Group. “We 100 per cent got the right person.” Boards “told every entrepreneur to cut once and cut deep. “I don’t think we’re fully done yet,” he said in an interview. Now, the two have cut deeply again – putting them at the vanguard of tech companies enacting a second sweeping reduction.

Canadian fintech Clearco – once a high-flier in this country's high-tech sector – is undertaking another major round of layoffs and will replace the ...

In an interview with BNN Bloomberg, Romanow denied that the purpose of the engagement with Financial Technology Partners was to sell the company, "I wouldn’t call that a failed process at all because that wasn’t the purpose of that.” In addition to layoffs and management changes, the company also intends to raise more capital. Curtis denied any struggles with servicing the debt from Silicon Valley Bank in an interview with BNN Bloomberg saying, “We are able to service the Silicon Valley Bank debt and have been able to service the Silicon Valley Bank debt.” There was some inbound interest but the focus of the strategic review was injection of capital instead of an outright sale, according to a source familiar with the matter. Clearco, which has yet to turn a profit, has raised almost $700 million in funding over the past several years, according to Crunchbase. Romanow, who started the company in 2015 with four other founders and became CEO less than a year ago, will become Executive co-Chair and remain on the board.