Layoff mania

I started writing about layoffs beginning early this year and have occasionally mentioned the layoffs while discussing the economy and markets over the year. I knew earlier this year that we were just touching the tip of the iceberg when it comes to layoffs. Pretty much company over hired last year and the market environment has done a 180. My prediction is that almost all tech companies will need to right size in this down market.

This past week was unfortunately a big week for layoffs. Specifically in FinTech, Chime had a 13% layoff and Stripe just announced a 14% layoff. These are two of the biggest players in the fintech startup space. Last year, it was hard to imagine Stripe becoming victim to layoffs. They are a darling in the fintech world and the Collison brothers are some of the most respect tech entrepreneurs in the world.

The markets can be humbling and this is a tough situation for everyone right now, even the most well-funded startups with amazing leadership.

While I surely hope that we don’t have too many more layoffs in the future, I do think there’s likely still more pain ahead for us in the tech world. This could be a really long winter for all of us.

For myself, I am focusing on building Secfi to become a sustainable long-term business. That may mean sacrificing some short-term goals in this market, but I believe that it’ll pay dividends in the long run when the market turns.