Virgio, started by former Myntra chief executive Amar Nagaram, saw most of these layoffs and exits happen between April and June this year, a person in the know told ET, on condition of anonymity. “It was a time of great flux and it’s hard to say for sure who left of their own accord and who was asked to.”
At the time the exits and firings began, the firm had over 60 people. Positions across the business, tech, design, and manufacturing verticals were hit, while the finance and HR departments were “relatively untouched”, the person added.
The exits include senior management leaders such as Rajesh Narkar, chief technology officer Nishant Khurana, and chief product officer Neelesh Soni. All three executives had previously worked at Myntra, during Nagaram’s time there.
Moneycontrol was the first to report on the layoffs at Virgio. Nagaram declined to comment.
ET reported on October 9 that Virgio was shutting its fast fashion business and pivoting towards what it’s calling ‘circular fashion’. The firm had about $25 million left in the bank, having raised $37 million at a $160 million valuation last December. The funding round was co-led by Prosus Ventures, Alpha Wave Global, and Accel.
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As opposed to fast fashion, where brands churn out products with new designs and short life cycles in quick time, circular fashion focuses on sustainability and extends the lifecycle of products through reuse and recycling, as well as through the conscious choosing of source materials and designs.While raising the funds last year, the startup had said that it was building a fashion tech platform that would allow designers to access consumer preferences in real time, and cater to Gen Z and the late millennial audience.
