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Layoffs at Canadian tech startups

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Re: Layoffs at Canadian tech startups

#81

Post by dehrmann »

unity1001 wrote: post #79
dehrmann wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Shopify is publicly traded and is an e-commerce platform. It isn't dependent on VC money to run, and neither are its customers. What happened was people shifted discretionary spending to e-commerce during covid, and between things reopening, having a fully-stocked home gym, and inflation, they cut back on buying stuff. Wealthsimple might have funding issues (I'm not sure), but it lost a lot of use because again, its…

> Shopify is publicly traded and is an e-commerce platform. It isn't dependent on VC money to run But it still floats on the inflated stock values like a majority of the big tech companies.

The stock price is somewhat independent of the underlying business. The stock price is based on what investors think other investors will pay for it sometime in the future, weighted against other investments.

Re: Layoffs at Canadian tech startups

#82

Post by ZephyrBlu »

negamax wrote: post #71
cmrdporcupine wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean, I did that. I left Google and cashed out. I'm not old, but I'm mid-life. I'm not able to retire. I just couldn't handle the bullshit anymore. But now I'm working again (for less $) because I need the money :-) But TBH the hiring frenzy was happening long before that. When I left (end of last year), I heard Google had hired something like half its staff just during the pandemic period. Not sure if I believe th…

There you go. I have done something similar. And place was puffing up with out of college new hires. Everyone getting pat on the back. I stand by my assertion, companies will have to get the old people back unless they are happy to have years of over investment with little returns, increased uncertainty around release cycles

> And place was puffing up with out of college new hires. Everyone getting pat on the back

I've read that FAANG companies like Facebook and Google dramatically increased their headcount in the last couple of years during the pandemic. It definitely seems like jobs were being handed out like candy and now companies are going to feel the consequences.

Re: Layoffs at Canadian tech startups

#83

Post by dehrmann »

kart23 wrote: post #65
dehrmann wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Shopify is publicly traded and is an e-commerce platform. It isn't dependent on VC money to run, and neither are its customers. What happened was people shifted discretionary spending to e-commerce during covid, and between things reopening, having a fully-stocked home gym, and inflation, they cut back on buying stuff. Wealthsimple might have funding issues (I'm not sure), but it lost a lot of use because again, its…

…shopify is losing more than 1 billion a quarter.

My favorite apocryphal explanation for the origin of the term "black friday" is it's the first day in the year retailers are in the black. I wouldn't be surprised if Shopify follows this pattern, too. You really need to look at YoY numbers for them.

Re: Layoffs at Canadian tech startups

#84

Post by MonkeyMalarky »

throwawaysleep wrote: post #74
MonkeyMalarky wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

SR&ED is just a nice-to-have break on taxes, no?

I’m not sure of the details, but I worked for a company where SR&ED reporting and grant collecting determined product features.

Yikes,that sounds like a easy way to sink a lot of effort into something totally useless. With how mercurial the government can be with those credits it's better to do the work you need first and think about how to frame it for filing after.

Re: Layoffs at Canadian tech startups

#85

Post by chaostheory »

hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #77
vouaobrasil wrote: post #45

I interviewed at a startup once in Canada. They offered 40K per year (Canadian) and asked late working hours right in the interview process. No thanks...

There are McDonalds in the US that offer 40k (USD) to entry-level, no-experience workers. With such an insulting salary proposal as you experienced, it's amazing that Canada has any startups at all.

It's probably not a coincidence that I've met many very good Canadian engineers in the US

Re: Layoffs at Canadian tech startups

#86

Post by supernovae »

ghaff wrote: post #39
mkl95 wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hiring freezes don't have to be industry wide to be problematic. If you are competing with dozens of people for a job, there is a high chance some of them are both a good fit and willing to accept crappier compensation.

Yeah, even if there are only some actual layoffs and only some degree of hiring freezes/slowdowns/tight budgets, that translates to fewer openings with more people competing for them with lower TC being offered. The general sense among the people I talk to is that it's increasingly significantly less of an employee's market than it was 6 to 12 months ago. Nowhere near dot-bomb territory of course (and the dynamics ar…

Interesting. I haven’t seen this. Been through many hiring freezes and economic downturns but my salary has only ever gone up and if my employer tightened the reigns, i moved on. (here is your sign)- nothing really changed the market unless it was something such as 2008 meltdown with was systemic.

Re: Layoffs at Canadian tech startups

#87

Post by geoduck14 »

__turbobrew__ wrote: post #61
mabbo wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Shopify, hired like mad during the pandemic boom knowing full-well that they would end up laying off a bunch of those new hires once things got "normal" again. You should read Tobi's post about what happened. That's not how it was. https://news.shopify.com/changes-to-shopifys-team# > Before the pandemic, ecommerce growth had been steady and predictable. Was this surge to be a temporary effect or a new normal? And s…

So they made a bet and if it doesn’t pay off the devs get fired but the execs making the bet get to stay? Its not like shopify is even that good of a job for developers, they pay well below FAANG. Checking levels, Senior SWEs are only getting like 15k/year in grants which means you are taking on the start up risk without the potential 10x or 100x payoff.

>but the execs making the bet get to stay

What makes you think the execs don't get fired?

Re: Layoffs at Canadian tech startups

#88

Post by sbarre »

dv_dt wrote: post #58
sbarre wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In large companies, don't assume that there is a coherent and unified vision on hiring or growth. Different managers/directors/VPs have their own portfolios, their own budgets, their own roadmaps and KPIs. This leads to duplication, inefficiencies, and more.. But tech companies make so much money that in most cases this is accepted as cost of doing business - up to a point. Also in some places, if you don't hire for…

Execs should also get held responsible for some churndex number because that ultimately reflects on how good the execution is in a way that cash flow deltas alone does not reflect.

Yes but since execs make the rules, they never will...

Class solidarity is real.

Re: Layoffs at Canadian tech startups

#89

Post by unity1001 »

dehrmann wrote: post #81
unity1001 wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Shopify is publicly traded and is an e-commerce platform. It isn't dependent on VC money to run But it still floats on the inflated stock values like a majority of the big tech companies.

The stock price is somewhat independent of the underlying business. The stock price is based on what investors think other investors will pay for it sometime in the future, weighted against other investments.

> The stock price is somewhat independent of the underlying business

Yeah, it was. Now it will likely have to be dependent on the underlying business. At least, in the US. In Europe it was always highly tied to the success of the company's business. To profits, especially.

In the US it was more like 'this will take over the market and go big in the future'. But, a lot of major companies haven't been able to do that. From Facebook to Twitter. Not even talking about those like WeWork or Uber.

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