Trutap decimates headcount, keeps skeleton staff, looks for sale
Trutap is headed-up by co-founder, CEO and Chairman Doug Richard, best known as a former Dragon on the BBC’s Dragon’s Den programme. Although the company is not commenting officially on the moves, a reliable source told TechCrunch UK that the company was “cutting back and aiming to keep the service running with a skeleton staff to reduce the burn and keep the service live”. That will mean keeping on around 4-5 staff out of the original 30 to keep the application available while the company looks for a sale or new investment.
I understand there are a couple of potential investors still interested, and one might be an acquisition. But there are of course no guarantees in the current climate.
It’s bad timing for the actual application itself (see video below). Version 2 of Trutap’s software now supports a host of IM protocols, accessible from within a pretty slick Java app which runs on hundreds of handset models, especially in emerging markets like Brazil and Russia.
Trutap, the free mobile social network – video demo from Trutap on Vimeo.
Currently Trutap – a TechCrunch40 finalist from 2007 – is the only mobile social networking app on the Sony Ericsson download store, and it had other handset distribution deals about to go live; a distribution deal with a “major” mobile content aggregator; and it was one of first apps on the Eplus German mobile network which does not charge for data use.
Yup, it’s bad timing.
UPDATE: If you are a former Trutap employee, put yourself on CrunchBase and I’ll add your profile to this post. It may help you find more work…