by Nate Bek on June 24, 2022 at 7:59 amJune 24, 2022 at 10:49 am
These days, it might be easier for early-stage startups to recruit top tech talent.
That was one of a few silver linings related to the slowdown in the economy highlighted by the panel speakers at the Graham & Walker Reconnect speaker event, hosted Thursday evening by the Seattle venture firm in-person for the first time in three years at the Amazon Spheres.
It was hard to ignore the gloomy mood in the room, with talk of all the layoffs happening in the tech world from large companies to startups. But there was one underlying message from the speakers navigating their way through this downturn: Be tenacious and clear-headed, and you can build a lasting business during this moment.
“When there is disruption, there is opportunity,” said Jeff Spector, co-founder and president of Seattle startup Karat.
Startups may have a better opportunity to hire workers in a downturn, said Julie Sandler, co-founder and managing director at Pioneer Square Labs. She said that it’s the first time employees at large tech companies might see the “floor fall out” from under them. And because of that, many tech workers are looking to “chase a dream” and join an early-stage company.
There were two panel discussions, one focused on founders and the other on investors. The founder panelists included: Karat co-founder Spector; Maria Colacurcio, CEO at Syndio; and Surbhi Rathore, co-founder and CEO of Symbl.ai. The investor panelists included: PSL’s Sandler; Tina Hoang-To, founding partner at Kin Ventures; and Ken Alston, venture investor at the Amazon Climate Pledge Fund. It was moderated by Anne VanderMey, tech editor at Bloomberg.
Here were other key takeaways from the panel:
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