Startup tourists

I’ve been seeing the term VC tourist thrown out a lot recently. I thought it was a pretty good way to describe the recent situation with lots of people looking to get in on the action when times are good in VC, but have been flocking for greener pastures during the down times.

I’ve started to borrow this term and start labeling some folks as startup tourists as well. I think in the late 2010s, we started to see quite of the workforce look to join startups. They were promised high salaries, work-life balance, and perks all funded by the incredible amount of venture capital money.

Many of these startup tourists never joined a startup to build something or believe in their company’s mission. They just wanted the perks and the clout that came along with the job. As we enter the 2nd year of this down market for startups, we’re going to see a lot of these tourists flock back to greener pastures, i.e. large companies.

Finding talent will be harder for us startup folks, but at the same time, it’s a palate cleanser for the industry. We’ll be left with the builders and those passionate about building great products and companies.