The startup Refocus from the founders of Qmarketing closed due to financial difficulties: the company faced delays in customer payments and difficulties in attracting investments. The Refocus online school was launched in early 2022 by Roman Kumar Vias, Igor Vinidiktov and Alexander Solovyov.
Online school Refocus co-founder Roman Kumar Vias spoke to Forbes about the company’s closure. According to him, the reason was financial difficulties and difficulties in attracting investments.
The founders of online marketing and design school Qmarketing Academy, of which Skyeng acquired 25% in November 2021, launched Refocus in early 2022. The online school operated in Indonesia and the Philippines.
Roman Kumar Vias said the company was facing delays in customer payments. Most students paid for courses in installments through a partner, but in February 2023, payments decreased significantly, causing the partner to approve installments less frequently. For this reason, the startup’s revenue fell drastically: from $1.5 million in January 2023 to $100,000 in June.
Refocus also had difficulty attracting investment. The startup planned to raise $13 million and spend it on launching in new markets, but due to the current situation in the venture capital market, it was only able to attract $4.6 million, plus partners invested $2 million. dollars of personal funds.
As a result, Refocus ceased operations in the Philippines in July 2023 and in Indonesia in September. The company still owes debts to employees and customers; The startup plans to cover them by selling assets.
Author:
Kirill Bilyk
Source: RB
I am a professional journalist and content creator with extensive experience writing for news websites. I currently work as an author at Gadget Onus, where I specialize in covering hot news topics. My written pieces have been published on some of the biggest media outlets around the world, including The Guardian and BBC News.
