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More than 17,000 tech workers have lost their jobs since the beginning of this year, according to Crunchbase. It’s painful, but for reference, TechCrunch recorded more than 100,000 tech layoffs between August and December 2008.
In my experience, founders and investors usually get off scot-free in such events. For bottom-line employees, however, unexpected layoffs can be life-changing: a former product manager I used to work with is now selling residential properties, and another works in public health.
This is a time to be cautious: update your resume, revisit your summer vacation plans, and start adding more to your rainy day fund.
As I said before, if your name doesn’t appear on the team slide of your company’s pitch deck, it’s time to be cautious: update your resume, return to your summer vacation plans, and start adding more to your rainy-day funds.
Building a business is a high-stakes effort, so here’s a promise: I won’t approve articles offering advice on how to navigate this downturn unless the author has direct experience of the matter.
Before Karl Alomar became a managing partner of VC firm M13, he steered one company through the dot-com bust of 2000 and helped another survive the Great Recession of 2008.
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“The main difference between 2022 and previous downturns is that this contraction has been long-awaited, while the previous downturns were much more sudden,” he says.
Alomar shared eight elements entrepreneurs should consider in this environment, including his high-profile advice that anyone fundraising should commit at least two years to the catwalk.
“Investors are likely to remain largely on the sidelines as markets settle down and a new set of comparable multiples is constructed,” Alomar said. “It may take a while.”
On Wednesday, June 29th at 2:30pm ET, Karl Alomar will join me in a Twitter space for more strategic advice on fundraising during a recession. To get a reminder, follow @techcrunch and @techcrunchplus.
Thank you for reading; I hope you have a nice weekend.
Walter Thompson
Senior Editor, TechCrunch+
@yourprotagonist
Table of Contents
Dear Sophie, how do we deal with this when it comes to immigration?
Photo credit: Bryce Durbin/TechCrunch
Dear Sophie,
Our fully remote start-up is looking for several new engineering positions.
We have never gone through the immigration process with employees and some prospective employees require a visa.
One is currently on an H-1B and lives in Dallas. Another candidate is currently living in Germany and would like to work from Miami.
What should we consider before hiring these engineers? How do we deal with total distance when it comes to immigration?
— Distributed and determined
Growth Marketing Experts Poll: How would you spend a budget of $75,000 in the summer of 2022?
Photo credit: Tony Cuenca (opens in a new window) / Unsplash (opens in a new window) under a license.
Over the past decade, as entrepreneurs began to translate lessons learned in bootcamps into essential best practices, startups have begun to give growth marketers more respect and resources.
Here’s the good news: Managers can’t cut your respect budget. Unfortunately, to maximize ROI, every dollar now has to go further than Reed Richards did in the last Doctor Strange film.
This time we asked four experts to tell us how they manage a budget of $75,000 and their recommendations for someone with just $10,000 to spare:
- Ellen Kim, VP of Creative, Marketer Hire
- Jack Hallam, Growth and Community Lead, Ammo
- Jonathan Metrick, Chief Growth Officer, Portage Ventures
- Jonathan Martinez, Founder, JMStrategy
Pitch Deck Teardown: Lunchbox’s $50M Series B deck
Photo credit: lunch box (opens in a new window)
Lunchbox CEO Nabeel Alamgir co-founded the company with Andrew Boryk and Hadi Rashid to give restaurants the ability to create and manage online delivery and takeout without having to pay hefty fees to delivery platforms.
It has since expanded to create tools for ghost kitchens and restaurant chains, creating a comprehensive digital stack for the hospitality industry.
In February 2022, the team raised a $50 million Series B, and we have their unabridged 15-slide deck, which includes a case study, two compelling problem slides, and several data points that helped investors navigate their way to… to present an exit.
VCs are flocking to TikTok to reach the next generation of founders and investors
Photo credit: Bryce Durbin / TechCrunch
Investors are turning to social media as they widen the top of their talent funnel, reports Dominic-Madori Davis.
On TikTok, founders and VCs connect directly with a global audience, leading to acquisitions, funding rounds, and the democratization of information historically held by insiders.
“These are really bright, capable young people who will do great things in the future,” said Craft Ventures Partner Arra Malekzadeh.
“I want to get her interest and attention early in her life. So if they decide to become an entrepreneur or an investor, I will be someone to turn to.”
When Markets Fall, Government Tech Spending Holds Stable: How Can Investors Take Advantage?
Photo credit: kind pee (opens in a new window) /Getty Images
Federal tech spending is expected to remain resilient even as a recession looms, and investors and startups should take advantage of this opportunity, write Hangar co-founders Josh Mendelsohn and Mike Ference.
“Current government spending, many of which will only start moving in the states as they close their legislative sessions this summer, means that every decade (or more often) companies have a chance to look for something new in a funded market enter ideas.”
With the infrastructure spending bill covering $110 billion across more than 4,300 projects, “it’s an incredible opportunity for investors to support the next wave of innovation.”