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Print Edition StoriesFriday, November 14, 2008
How We See It
Tough times are best times for risk
By Mass High Tech Staff
MHT reporter Efrain Viscarolasaga on NECN: Green tech brings jobs back to Mass.
How is the economic crisis affecting tech companies?
During the presidential debates, buzzword bingo cards with “maverick,” “hope,” or “change” were guaranteed winners. Apply the same game to news headlines or the blogosphere, and we recommend keying on “layoffs,” “burn rate” and that old standby, “RIF’d,” as in, “How many people got RIF’d this week?”
This is not to say that everything is dire and all hope (Bingo!) is lost. In fact, more than a month ago, Avid Technology founder Bill Warner was exhorting entrepreneurs to take advantage of difficult economic times — after all, it worked for him when he launched Avid in 1987, just after Black Monday. This economic pounding has certainly crushed the sales and growth opportunities for some technology companies, but others — particularly those whose technologies promise efficiencies and immediate ROI, seem to be holding strong. Several newly hatched startups are posting executive-level jobs and are forming their teams now. So what’s keeping you from jumping in?
Now is probably your best time to make the leap: As larger companies let go more employees at the end of this year, competition for the most interesting startup jobs will heat up. At the same time, business competitors may be so busy hunkering down and playing defense during these times of turmoil — and we know that several midsize and large companies are doing just that — your startup has a great chance to gobble up some market share. Even companies in the most difficult markets, such as financial services technology, can make headway. Don’t have first-mover advantage? Be the second mouse: Let your competitor get hammered, then go take the cheese.
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