Overwork, fatigue and hope • TechCrunch

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Welcome to Startups Weekly, a special focus on this week’s startup news and trends by Senior Reporter and co-host of Equity Natasha Maskerenhas To get this in your inbox, sign up here.

If there’s one thing I can count on every new year, it’s that people argue that resolutions are irrelevant, that capitalism is a waste of time, or that there’s something beautiful about wanting to improve the world together.

Longtime readers know I’m a fan of resolutions for the latter reason. There’s nothing like the renewed energy you get from taking a few days off to focus on better, bigger goals that 2022 wasn’t a place for. After two weeks off, am I re-energized? yes. Do I fear that the news cycle will begin to spin in an uncontrollable moment, taking us with it? Also yes.

Alas, we are there and if you have a resolution, I encourage you. My journalist, besides working more on my writing career and maybe starting on this book dream is to do more series of stories.

The big themes that dominated news coverage in 2022 were around layoffs, labor and venture capital incentives. But beyond individual workforce reductions, how has reality-checking changed technology? Are venture dollars becoming more disciplined or has the past 12 months been a fever pitch? Doom and gloom are part of the story, but I think there’s news in technological innovation and improvement as well.

So far, I don’t do half bad, if I do say so myself. This week, I published a story about how laid-off talent considers risk in today’s job market. Here is the introduction:

Tech is not what college used to be. Rocket ships are turning out to be messy, mission-driven startups don’t seem mission-oriented as they respond to investor pressure, and widespread strikes are a loud reminder that jobs aren’t fragile contracts.

In the past few months, thousands of workers from Meta, Twitter, Stripe, Amazon, DoorDash and countless other companies who didn’t have the chance to become household names have returned to the job market. Industry experts warn that the labor market will not end this year, with layoffs, wage cuts and general ill health.

So where does technological prowess go from here?

The answer is complicated, and it’s too early to have accurate workforce data. VCs want to fund the tech mafia’s newest startups before banks do, top MBA programs are ditching standardized test score requirements because they’re desperate to recruit outsiders, and tech companies looking to hire you. Find out.

Keep reading to see how three laid-off workers in 2023 are approaching their jobs differently. As usual, you can find me at TwitterSubstack and Instagram where I post a lot of my words and work. In the rest of this newsletter, we’ll talk about CES, crypto, and Katrina Lake’s return as CEO of Stitch Fix.

What CES in Vegas, hopefully will not stay in Vegas

It’s that time of year. This week brought CES, the annual consumer electronics show that showcases a number of innovative gadgets that may surprise you. TechCrunch covers the ground when these products first launched, from texting your dog to non-dorky AR glasses and “a cute hideaway for your unmentionables.”

Here’s why this is important: According to TC Hardware Editor Brian Heiter, CES is starting to take robotics seriously. In the newspaper, Actuator, Heater gave us early insights about the scene, which is not much of a scene compared to what it was before the epidemic.

Here’s why he thinks there were a lot of robots roaming around Vegas last week.

• The pandemic has accelerated the industry as a whole.

• Automakers are getting serious about investing in robotics startups and acquiring or building these technologies in-house. See: Ford Agility Investments, TRI Research and Hyundai Events After Boston Dynamics Findings.

• Big companies like Amazon have been pushing consumer robotics heavily.

The latest in crypto

I’ll be honest, this sub-head looks like it’s fulfilling the obligatory scream-not-so-subtle hangover. I know you’re not interested in all the crypto stories you’ve missed while enjoying egg nog or catching up on books, or actually helped you. Link summary, even if you are at the end of this newsletter, just do more!

Here’s why it’s important: In the year In 2022 we can’t just look back on what happened in the last innings and let fatigue win! So, let’s make a deal. I drop you the latest on what’s happening in the crypto world and my best colleague Jacqueline Melink’s newsletter, Chain Reaction. Her latest column definitely woke me up: “Crypto is ringing in the new year with new lawsuits and new chaos.

Image Credits: Andriy Onufriyenko/Getty Images

Adjust Stitch.

While we often cover executive departures, it’s not every day you see a founder return to CEO of their company a year and a half after stepping down. If you can guess who I’m talking about, here’s a gold star: Stitch Fix founder Katrina Lake is returning to the company she started after battling failure.

Here’s why it’s important: Now that Lake is CEO again, she’s the bearer of bad news. As first reported by CNBC, Lake sent a company-wide email to 1,700 salaried employees, indicating that 20% of them were laying off.

As I said in our recent episode about equity, it’s clear that the 2022 tech bust is not a wave, it’s a reality. Just check out this week’s other headlines:

Image Credits: Getty Images courtesy of David Paul Morris/Bloomberg.

A few notes

• If you’re feeling nostalgic, here’s some of our 2022 year-end coverage
• TechCrunch is coming to Boston on April 20th. I will meet with my dear colleagues to ask senior experts at a one-day founding conference. Book your pass fast!

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With that, I went to Baltimore to spend some time with some dear childhood friends. If you have any coffee shop recommendations, send them my way! Otherwise I’ll catch you next week.

always,

N