Meet the Company
cielo24 was founded in 2012 as a transcription company spun out of another Santa Barbara, CA–based startup. The early vision was to make spoken media searchable by transcribing audio and video content for online platforms and higher education institutions. Over time, the company became embedded in universities and media organizations, building tools that transformed raw transcription into structured datasets with time-aligned words.
Long before “AI” became a mainstream headline, cielo24 was already experimenting at the edges of machine learning. Between 2014 and 2015, the team explored how their growing corpus of labeled speech data could be used to train emerging models. Like many early infrastructure-adjacent startups, they were ahead of the market and still searching for the right commercial path.
The company raised venture funding, opened offices in New York and California, and scaled to nearly 70 employees at its peak.
A Return at a Critical Moment
Shanna Johnson had been part of cielo24 since the early days, serving as COO before leaving in 2016 during a difficult fundraising period. Years later, in 2019, the board reached out to bring her back in, this time as CEO.
When she returned, the company had thousands in the bank, but millions owed. Within 18 months, cielo24 was profitable again. The pandemic accelerated demand for online courses and digital media, which temporarily stabilized the business and allowed the company to pay down debt.
All the while, the team continued exploring a pivot into machine learning. But as the market shifted again, cielo24 lost its largest customer. Profitability disappeared. Traditional options like an ABC were too expensive. Like many startups in the post-2020 market correction, the company had reached a point where continuing no longer made sense.
Facing the Hardest Decision
For Shanna, shutting down was not about quitting early. It was about recognizing reality and protecting the people and work that had defined more than a decade of effort.
You know when it’s time. You play until the final whistle. But legacy is in the people who worked there and how you handle the ending.
Still, knowing it was time did not make the process easier. The mechanics of shutting down were overwhelming. Legal requirements, voting thresholds, cap table complexity, creditor obligations, and asset disposition all loomed at once.
Then, a friend connected through a shared investor recommended SimpleClosure.
A Human Approach to Shutdown
From her first interactions, SimpleClosure felt different. The product was accessible and clear, but what stood out most was that it was not one-size-fits-all.
It was overwhelming before, but SimpleClosure set my mind at ease. I didn’t have to research on my own or piece together advice from the internet. There was a real team backing the process, not just an AI telling you how to shut down.
For founders navigating closure in uncertain markets, that combination of structure and empathy matters. It is why thousands of companies across industries have trusted SimpleClosure to guide them through their final chapter.
An Outcome that Preserved Value
As the shutdown progressed, cielo24 uncovered an unexpected opportunity. The data assets the company had built over more than a decade still held meaningful value. Rather than being abandoned or written off, a buyer was identified through SimpleClosure, and the assets were acquired for mid-six figures and given new life at an organization working at the forefront of language technology.
“It had never crossed my mind that our data could be part of the company’s legacy,” Shanna said. “Seeing it live on in a new context was incredibly meaningful.”
Instead of disappearing quietly, cielo24’s work continued to contribute beyond the life of the company itself. That outcome was only possible because the shutdown process created the space to evaluate options carefully rather than rushing through the end.
A Forward-Looking Legacy
After more than 13 years with the company across multiple leadership roles, Shanna reflects on how most startups fade from memory within a few years of closing. What lasts longer is how founders show up at the end.
“To me, after a few years, most people will not remember the company,” she said. “What matters is how you treated people and whether the work you did continues in some form.”
SimpleClosure did not minimize the weight of the decision. It provided a framework that allowed cielo24 to close responsibly, protect relationships, and sell assets to help preserve value.
Not Alone in the Process
cielo24's story reflects a broader reality. Each year, SimpleClosure supports hundreds of founders navigating shutdowns across SaaS, fintech, deep technology, and more. Many have long-tenured teams, complex cap tables, and assets worth protecting.
For founders facing similar decisions, cielo24's experience offers reassurance. A shutdown can still be intentional. It can still be handled with care. And with the right partner, it can still honor everything that came before.
As Shanna put it, “If you are going to fail, fail fast. But when it is time to shut down, do it right.”
SimpleClosure exists to help founders do exactly that.