eSnips CEO Drama Disrupts Company

Lots of bad news leaking out of Israeli startup eSnips this week. The company, which is part social network and part file uploading service, continues to grow – recent Comscore says they had 8 million unique visitors in January, up from 2.2 million a year ago. But founding CEO Yael Elish left the company for “personal reasons” just as they were closing a round of funding a couple of months ago.

The funding, inevitably, fell apart. The company tried to regroup under chairman Nahum Sharfman, who took over as acting CEO. But they eventually went the layoff route, letting most of the 16 or so employees go.

It’s not clear if the company will fold or find a way to continue operations. But storm clouds have massed over what was once a promising startup.

To date eSnips has raised $5 million, mostly from Gemini Israel Funds and Greylock. We’re putting them on DeadPool watch.