Thursday, January 8, 2009

Social media firm Mzinga cuts 15 jobs

By Galen Moore

Mzinga Inc. on Tuesday laid off 15 employees, a 6.7 percent cut to its 225-person staff, officials report.

CEO Rick Faulk said the cuts were taken to make the Burlington-based social media software company cash-flow positive for the first quarter of 2009. “It’s never good to lose colleagues, friends and expertise,” Faulk said, “but we are still the largest-staffed social media company, and we’re positioned to win.”

The cuts, which occurred across the organization, align resources to market opportunities looking ahead to 2009, he said. The company also reported that it had secured a second round of funding, according to officials.

Faulk also said Mzinga closed an internal round of funding for an undisclosed amount on Dec. 31. Returning investors included members of the management team and New York-based venture capital firm W Capital Partners. He put a positive spin on the company’s position, saying the fourth quarter of 2008 was one of its best ever. “We still have significant revenue growth going into 2009,” he said. “We’ve got our largest pipeline ever as a business.”

Mzinga, which makes social media applications for marketing, human resources and education, in March announced a $32.5 million round of financing and acquired Littleton-based Prospero Technologies LLC, a mid-1980’s spinoff from Delphi Internet Services.

The March funding was a finalist for the 2008 Tech Dealmakers Awards sponsored by Mass High Tech and the Association for Corporate Growth Boston.