Online securities marketplace OffRoad Capital cuts staff by 30%

Computerworld - OffRoad Capital Corp. in San Francisco said it has laid off about one-third of its staff in across-the-board cuts that affected all departments and the company three offices in San Francisco, New York and Cambridge, Mass.
"One part of our business has experienced a big slowdown as a result of market conditions," said spokesman Pat Harden, confirming that 41 of the company's 120 employees were laid off last Thursday.
Specifically, high net-worth individuals are doing less investing in direct private equity, she said.
However, she added, the company is expecting growth in its two other areas of business -- serving institutional clients with online venture capital funds and private labeling of its private marketplace platform to other financial service institutions.
"We're very focused on becoming profitable," she said.
As a result, OffRoad Capital just received $6 million of financing from the Menlo Park, Calif.-based Mayfield Fund and other investors.
In addition, Harden said, OffRoad Capital will do some "selective hiring" and plans to buy New York-based SPP Capital Partners LLC in the first half of this year.

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• SEC staff: Online brokerages can do better, daJan. 31, 2001


• Battling for Web investors, Oct. 23, 2000

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