Newsyelp, Yelp Chairman Max Levchin, Resignation, CEO Jeremy Stoppelman
Jul 30, 2015 10:20 PM EDT
Crowdsourced business review site Yelp took a double whammy as its chairman filed his resignation after the company's stock plunged 28 per cent for the second quarter of 2015.
The company, through its CEO Jeremy Stoppelman, announced the departure of Max Levchin from Yelp's board. Levchin was instrumental in founding and providing seed money to Yelp before it filed for an initial public offering in 2011. Levchin is also a co-founder of PayPal, and sits on the board of Yahoo as well.
"We thank Max for all his contributions to Yelp since its founding in 2004 when he provided the seed capital to start the company," said Stoppelman, "Max saw Yelp grow from just an idea in my head to a company worth billions of dollars with Yelpers around the world."
Levchin is leaving Yelp at a crucial time in the company's existence. Forbes reports that Yelp has been shopping around since early 2015 for potential buyers, but so far, all efforts to sell the company have stalled. He will be assuming the top post at Affirm, a startup that aims to provide consumers a way to obtain a micro-loan at the point of sale, instead of using credit cards.
Levchin said in another statement, "I am extremely proud of what Yelp has accomplished over the last 11 years and believe I leave it well-positioned to take advantage of the large local advertising market." He goes on to say that "I'm confident that Yelp is prepared to continue its success as I increase my focus on my CEO responsibilities at Affirm, along with other demands on my time."
Yelp has no immediate plans to nominate Levchin's successor, but is rumored to do so in the company's upcoming Board Meeting in September.
In related news, Yelp has posted losses for the second quarter in a row. The reviews aggregator barely missed the estimates made by market analysts for second quarter earnings for 2015. However, the company posted a 51% growth in revenue, as well as aggressive improvements in the apps department, another area that Yelp is currently expanding in.