Betterworks shuts down. Backed by Redpoint, FF venture capital, etc

|FNAME|,   Thank you for believing in our vision, for investing in your people, and for your encouragement and support as an early adopter of the BetterWorks perk offering.  It’s been quite a journey for our amazing team and we learned a lot along the way.  I’m proud to have earned your business as a valued customer and advocate for making work rewarding.  I'm writing to let you know that after extensive consideration, we’ve decided to close down the BetterWorks perk platform.  The platform will continue to run through May 31st, 2012, at which point it will no longer be active.  Our decision came as a result of not being able to sustain a large enough market relative to the high cost of customer acquisition and we realized that reevaluating our company strategy was the right next step. We know our customers love using BetterWorks and enjoy the cost saving and efficiency it drives every day, thank you again for your business over the past months.      On behalf of BetterWorks, I apologize deeply for the inconvenience this creates for your workplace. We realize this affects employees currently using the platform, but we still believe in our core vision that employers should invest in their people.  We recommend immediately communicating proactively and also considering reallocating your BetterWorks dollars to something that you and your people choose together as an easy way to keep your company engaged and happy.  We will do everything we can to minimize the impact to your company during this period of transition.  Here are some key details to be aware of: Account Closure All accounts will be automatically closed at midnight on May 31st. We will communicate with employees this week over email in the coming days and remind them to spend unspent budget and of the key dates to be aware of.  Please do the same to ensure employees are aware. Budget and Personal Spend Throughout the remaining days in May, employees may continue use the platform to make perk purchases on personal credit cards or using budget; however this will end at midnight on May 31st, 2012.  Any unspent funds will not be charged of course. All personal and credit card information will be deleted from the system at this time. Monthly Memberships All monthly memberships will be cancelled at the end of May 2012.  Many vendors will continue to honor BetterWorks or preferred rates for corporate customers.  However, this is not a required policy, and we encourage employees to discuss this option directly with their vendor, should they wish to continue memberships at their desired facilities.  Vouchers and Orders Please inform employees that prior to midnight May 31st, they must print out any unused vouchers. All existing purchases and vouchers will remain valid through August 31, 2012.  Our vendors will honor all purchased vouchers from BetterWorks through this period. Employee Communications We’ll remind employees over email of the key dates and actions they will need to take immediately.  We encourage employers to be immediately transparent and proactive about employee communications as well.  You invested in us because you care about your people and there’s no reason that needs to change.  Please make sure your employees are aware of the May 31st site closure date and make appropriate plans following the site closure.  We recommend reallocating BetterWorks funds toward ideas you and your people choose together.  Final Payment Details Because you are able to make purchases until the end of May, we estimate final charges will be settled within the first two weeks of June. No fees will be charged following the closure of the site on May 31st 2012. For additional information around payment and billing please see the FAQ.   Support Our goal is to provide an easy transition for our customers during this time.  Should any issues arise please email support@betterworks.com or call us at 1-888-601-9675 extension #2 and we will be happy to assist you. Thank you for your support over the past year.  Paige Craig CEO – BetterWorks  follow on Twitter | friend on Facebook | forward to a friend