GeekWire - 'Wild times' for tech startups

• What’s happening now is a return to historical normalcy, in some ways, rather than a “sky is falling” scenario.

• There’s an overall sense of caution among investors and startups, and a recognition of the need to preserve capital.

• Startups increasingly need to think about extending their capital runway, rebalancing the trade-off between efficiency and growth.

• Companies aren’t hiring as aggressively, in general, but there aren’t yet widespread hiring freezes or layoffs at this point.

• In many cases, demand from end customers is still strong. Companies have been hitting their Q1 targets, and Q2 is looking strong.

The big question, Porter says, is “whether inflation and a broader slowing in the world economy will turn this into a much longer downturn or recession. How long will this last? … Will it turn into a full-on recession? I’m not sure. And we’re hoping not. But that’s the question.”

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