Cameo emerged as one of the creator economy's stars during the pandemic, nabbing a more than $1 billion valuation last year and more than tripling its pre-pandemic workforce. Its layoffs – which we reported on earlier Wednesday – may be a precursor of what’s to come for creator economy startups. 

At an all-hands meeting earlier today, Steven Galanis, CEO and co-founder of the Chicago-based startup, told employees that the company was laying off more than 80 staffers, about a quarter of its workforce, according to one of the employees. The job cuts included several C-Suite executives, including chief technology officer Rob Post and chief product officer Nundu Janakiram, according to a source who heard the all-hands meeting. 

Galanis said the layoffs were necessary to “balance our costs with our cash reserves.”