Recurrent Ventures Lays Off Entire Mel Magazine Staff

The entire editorial staff of Mel Magazine––roughly 15 people, including editor in chief Josh Schollmeyer and general manager of the lifestyle division Ryan Brown––was laid off on Friday, one year exactly after the title was acquired in July 2021 by Recurrent Ventures, a media company backed by the venture equity firm North Equity. The layoffs were announced by Recurrent Ventures chief executive Lance Johnson during the publisher’s daily editorial meeting, which occurs at 12pm ET. The meeting ended abruptly, as Recurrent Ventures cut off the staff’s access to its Slack and company email. As a result, staff were unclear as to why Recurrent Ventures made the decision to lay them off. Before the call was cut short, Recurrent Ventures leadership said that they were responsible for the layoffs, having made incorrect assumptions about their ability to monetize Mel Magazine, according to a source who requested anonymity in order to discuss confidential matters. In March 2021, the title was reaching 4 million monthly readers and had at least one free newsletter with 60,000 subscribers. Following the truncated call, Mel Magazine staff received two emails from Recurrent Ventures management, one with instructions for returning company laptops and another with information regarding their severance package. When Recurrent Ventures acquired Mel Magazine last July, the company told the editorial staff they would be given between 18 and 24 months to turn a profit, according to a source who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters. Management said this was the first time Recurrent Ventures had shuttered an editorial operation. A representative for the company issued this statement: "Today, Recurrent announced the reorganization of several teams, predominantly in direct sales and strategic partnerships as well as in various areas of operations. We have also made the difficult decision to pivot our editorial and acquisition focuses away from the lifestyle vertical which includes our key lifestyle brand, MEL. We love MEL and are very aware that the team has been through a lot over the last few years. Josh, Lindsay and the incredibly talented writers have done a tremendous job not only getting the editorial back to where it was but expanding the scope of MEL’s content. "However, we’ve spent more than a year implementing and strategizing a variety of different monetization channels that haven’t gained traction. At this stage, we’ve invested more into the business than we committed to because we wanted this to succeed. Our overall M&A strategy has evolved to be focused on building a leadership position in our core verticals." What to Know About Mel Magazine’s New Owners, Recurrent Ventures Mel Magazine has been shuttered twice in two years The layoffs mark a regrettable instance of deja vu for the title. From its founding in 2015 until March 2021, Mel Magazine operated as a marketing arm for the men’s hygiene brand Dollar Shave Club. During those six years, Mel Magazine ran no ads on its site and was subsidized by its parent company. When the company had a change in executive ownership, it cut Mel Magazine loose. Three months later, in July 2021, Recurrent Ventures announced that it had acquired the property and set about trying to monetize it. At the time, Johnson told Adweek that although it was owned by a venture equity fund, Recurrent Ventures shared none of the cost-cutting characteristics of its peers. ‘We are not, like, the typical reputation of private equity, cutting people or cutting costs,” Johnson said at the time. “In fact we are adding costs and adding personnel.” Staff at Mel Magazine were saddened and surprised by the layoffs, but they were more frustrated with the lack of clear explanation and how the situation was handled, sources tell Adweek. Recurrent Magazine’s decision to abruptly shutter the publication, rather than seek to sell it, could damage the likelihood of the title continuing under new ownership. Mel Magazine to Launch Paid Newsletters

Publishing News

Recurrent Ventures Lays Off Entire Mel Magazine Staff

The venture equity-backed firm bought Mel Magazine last July

Mark Stenberg

About

Subscriptions

Events

Publications

WORK SMARTER - LEARN, GROW AND BE INSPIRED.

Subscribe today!

Mark Stenberg