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Noah Kagan (AppSumo) told the 40‑person team in a memo published 2026‑04‑29 that…
Brief
Noah Kagan sent a memo to the 40‑person AppSumo team on 2026‑04‑29 responding to Q1 survey feedback and outlining fixes across communication, strategy, AI, and compensation. He conceded the last year was AppSumo’s hardest—teammate and revenue losses—but said the company is becoming profitable again and urged staff to “act like an owner.” The survey revealed three recurring problems: opaque departures and AI fears, unclear strategy and frequent pivots, and burnout with frozen pay. Kagan committed to announcing departures, giving early manager notice on role changes, protecting parental/medical leave, providing Claude to employees to augment work (and noting months‑long support automation reduced some off‑shore contractors), quarterly strategy disclosures, monthly and weekly progress updates, a compensation market check this quarter with increases effective July 1, and leader burnout reviews plus a small “magic” budget; leaders will begin one‑on‑ones next week and share May outcomes.
Why it matters
Noah Kagan (AppSumo) told the 40‑person team in a memo published 2026‑04‑29 that Q1 feedback highlighted three repeat issues: job insecurity/opaque layoffs/AI concerns; no clear company strategy; and burnout with frozen compensation.
Key details
- Kagan acknowledged AppSumo's rough year—lost teammates, lost revenue—and said the company is becoming profitable again; he called for everyone to “act like an owner” and said he’s more optimistic than in 18 months.
- Immediate operational commitments: departures and role changes will be announced publicly; managers will give early, direct notice with context and support; parental or medical leave will never be a factor in role removal.
- Concrete process and comp changes: every quarter AppSumo will share strategy company‑wide, monthly leadership reports on top 3 priorities with stats, weekly Friday status highlights, an immediate market‑rate compensation review with raises effective July 1, leader burnout reviews, a small “magic” budget for team connection, and leaders will begin meetings next week with employees about career/comp/feedback.