James Cunningham

On the looming tech downturn

May 2022

The looming tech downturn, or put more accurately, the looming venture capital downturn. A correction to rampant overvaluation.

Suddenly, companies have to consider the possibility the next funding round won’t come, and they have to enter “cockroach mode”.

The thing with “cockroach mode”, otherwise known as Default Alive, it should be a companies default state.

Nothing is guaranteed in startups anymore than any other business, the default should be survival, not dependence on the venture capital industry.

A revenue generating company with product market fit showing growth and low churn will be fine, that is the goal. If you are instead focusing on the next round of fundraising instead of any of those metrics, the “downturn” might not be so kind to you or your company.