After a frenetic few years, dark clouds of doubt and deepening despair now descend down on our nice and tidy Atlanta startup community, causing most industry participants to just be happy moving forward, perhaps driving at the speed limit but with no more racing in the streets.
Like Interstate 285, no one knows where they, their companies, and this fickle economy are going exactly. But the sheen is off the tires, the optimistic spring flowers, doused by strong storms, lay strewn on the sidewalk, and bitcoin and our bank accounts wilt away on a daily basis.
You can hear all of this reflected in some of the talk: glad we got out when we did, glad we took money off the table, glad we got a chair when the music finally stopped. Ask the folks at popular Atlanta startups like Salesloft, Terminus, and OneTrust about timing: Salesloft nailed it perfectly, selling for $2.3 billion to Vista Equity moments before the tide went out on fast-growing but profitless SaaS companies. The other two great companies, while also major beneficiaries of the 20/21 tech boom, didn’t fare quite so well, leading to large scale layoffs with a desire to button down the hatches, conserve cash, and live to fight another day.
These are higher profile stories, but these same themes echo across the landscape like the violent thunderstorms that have recently rumbled through the evening skies, driving investors and our dogs scouring for safety. But while our pets can find at least some comfort on the bathroom floor or wedged into an open closet, it is harder for investors right now, with no place to run, little solace, and no thunder vests or blankets to calm shaky nerves.
So we soldier on, back to the basics, looking to strengthen what we already have, and cast a more cold and calculated glance at new opportunities. Just like public market investors, we ask for better prices, more involvement, and we say no more often. We take sober assessments of burn rates, not knowing exactly where the next proverbial funding meals will come from, and we stay away from people selling bridges, either the one in Brooklyn or the ones that lead to nowhere.
But today is Father’s Day, so let’s shake off the gloom, remember what is really important, and spend time with those we love. Enjoy!!!
Bob Cramer is a Partner at Johnson Venture Partners and Founder of Chairman Partners, a startup advisory and consulting firm.
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