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If we are in a tech bubble, how can I protect myself?

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Re: If we are in a tech bubble, how can I protect myself?

#11

Post by kls »

daragao wrote: post #3
mooreds wrote: post #2

Save money. 6 months expenses is a good rule of thumb. Network (which really means just keep in touch with folks you have worked with or met). At your current employment situation, keep your ear to the ground. You don't need to move to a big company (they have layoffs too) but you want to be aware of what is happening. Ask your boss questions about the business, and do your own research too. If your company is "defau…

Surviving through the 2000 one must have been a hard one, although it picked up fast ;) What were the signs? What could you see at the time that made sense to you that was something wrong? Or at the time you never felt anything was wrong, business was just really good. After the disaster happens everyone has good theories about the causes, but before no one really remembers to look to obvious signs which transcend ho…

I knew it was a bubble when they where doing 2 week Flash bootcamps (the big front end tech at the time) and the people coming out of them where commanding 90-100k with no experience. I will say the latest front end coding boot camps are looking a lot like the late 90's to me. I protected myself by signing on with a profitable startup in a market that was slightly more rescission proof than other markets.

Re: If we are in a tech bubble, how can I protect myself?

#12

Post by cdnsteve »

mooreds wrote: post #2

Save money. 6 months expenses is a good rule of thumb. Network (which really means just keep in touch with folks you have worked with or met). At your current employment situation, keep your ear to the ground. You don't need to move to a big company (they have layoffs too) but you want to be aware of what is happening. Ask your boss questions about the business, and do your own research too. If your company is "defau…

Save money, pay off debt. I wouldn't advise starting a company until a last resort or you have a solid understanding of what's involved. Starting your own business isn't for everyone, could send you into further debt/trouble and it's very stressful.

Invest in yourself. Keep current and research what skill sets are in demand. Look at companies hiring even if you don't need to move. Don't wait until you find yourself with outdated skills knocking on people's doors.

Re: If we are in a tech bubble, how can I protect myself?

#13

Post by gregatragenet3 »

Make yourself a rainy day fund, 6-12 months of living expenses. Make sacrafices to make that happen. This puts you in a position of power when you do have to look for a new job, you don't have to be desperate to take the first crappy low-paying thing that comes along.

Never consider equity 'compensation' at non-public companies. If the job didn't include the equity would you accept? If not, pass or negotiate more cash. In good times, only one out of 10 of those stock option agreements will be anything more than birdcage liners.

And, as a developer, there are parts of the codebase that are unglamorous but crutial to the company. Adopt those parts that others don't want to work on. Be the go-to (crutial) guy for those parts of the code. When the time comes for cuts you'll be indispensable.

Source: went traveling the world on my rainy day fund in the 2000 crash.

Re: If we are in a tech bubble, how can I protect myself?

#14

Post by fratlas »

tariqali34 wrote: post #7
fratlas wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, Uber in particular has a huge profit. But other than that, I agree.

Uber has huge revenue . They have failed to generate a single cent of profit though.

Ah, yes, sorry. Still, nearly $2B revenue and funneling most of it into trying to break into the Chinese market; I don't think they're doing badly at all.

Re: If we are in a tech bubble, how can I protect myself?

#15

Post by JSeymourATL »

> If there is a tech bubble, how can I protect myself?

Get some solid sales & business development experience. Can you figure out new ways to generate revenue, win new clients?

Someone with a solid tech background and true sales ability can create his own deal anywhere. Incidentally, some of the most compelling salesman in this industry were one-time engineers.

Re: If we are in a tech bubble, how can I protect myself?

#16

Post by abcampbell »

mooreds wrote: post #2

Save money. 6 months expenses is a good rule of thumb. Network (which really means just keep in touch with folks you have worked with or met). At your current employment situation, keep your ear to the ground. You don't need to move to a big company (they have layoffs too) but you want to be aware of what is happening. Ask your boss questions about the business, and do your own research too. If your company is "defau…

Honestly, I started www.snow.ventures back in October to be an answer to this question.

You have to seek diversification, one way to do it is to short the system so that people can feel safe in their particular idiosyncratic exposure.

That's what we do.

Re: If we are in a tech bubble, how can I protect myself?

#17

Post by kasey_junk »

fratlas wrote: post #14
tariqali34 wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Uber has huge revenue . They have failed to generate a single cent of profit though.

Ah, yes, sorry. Still, nearly $2B revenue and funneling most of it into trying to break into the Chinese market; I don't think they're doing badly at all.

One of the things about the last bubble was that revenue without profits did not save anybody. That's not to say Uber will do poorly if there is some sort of bubble pop, but profits and revenue are not at all the same thing, and bubbles bursting have a habit of reminding us of that.

Re: If we are in a tech bubble, how can I protect myself?

#18

Post by ljk »

tariqali34 wrote: post #7
fratlas wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, Uber in particular has a huge profit. But other than that, I agree.

Uber has huge revenue . They have failed to generate a single cent of profit though.

and shady business tactics on top of that

Re: If we are in a tech bubble, how can I protect myself?

#19

Post by saddestcatever »

jjoe wrote: post #6

It's almost always too late to protect yourself when the bubble has popped. So prepare for the next pop. The only way to protect yourself is to build your own business. But not just any kind of business; a business that can absorb the chocks of cyclical troughs in an economy. What do people always need? * Drinking water * Food * Health * Shelter Pick one or two.

We're talking about a tech bubble here, not the apocalypse!

Re: If we are in a tech bubble, how can I protect myself?

#20

Post by mooreds »

abcampbell wrote: post #16
mooreds wrote: post #2

Save money. 6 months expenses is a good rule of thumb. Network (which really means just keep in touch with folks you have worked with or met). At your current employment situation, keep your ear to the ground. You don't need to move to a big company (they have layoffs too) but you want to be aware of what is happening. Ask your boss questions about the business, and do your own research too. If your company is "defau…

Honestly, I started www.snow.ventures back in October to be an answer to this question. You have to seek diversification, one way to do it is to short the system so that people can feel safe in their particular idiosyncratic exposure. That's what we do.

That's a really cool idea. So you allow tech employees to hedge their career risk? Is that different than Lloyd's of London insuring Michael Flatley's dance legs ( http://money.howstuffworks.com/personal-finance/financial-pl... )?

I visited your website but from a brief perusal it wasn't clear exactly what you can hedge, other than "particular systemic and market risks".

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