Founders are being hit hard by layoffs, too

It’s a difficult time for many in tech. For employees who have been laid off, I’m sorry for the pain you are going through. I hope you find positives in this unfortunate experience and bounce back stronger.

Social media is filled with shout-outs to help those who are affected by layoffs and it’s truly heartwarming to see people looking out for each other.

But who’s rooting for the founders?

Image credit: Timmy Loen

As layoff news spreads, plenty of “expert voices” are speaking out against founders. They’re invariably described as stupid, naive, or even evil. Because of their poor foresight, these stupid founders overhired and then had to fire staff.

To paraphrase one post I saw from a non-founder with 20/20 hindsight: “Founders are dumb. They don’t know how to run a business. It was common sense that the pandemic would end and online growth would slow. Why overhire?”

What nonsense. No one knows what the future holds and founders, like everyone else, do their best and execute according to plan. If the situation changes, the plan has to change.

What should a founder do when the market takes a hit? Stay the course and let the company burn to the ground? Is that what a great leader would do?

That would be irresponsible. Layoffs affect a minority of the company, so the majority can continue to build and ship. While it isn’t pleasant, it’s reality.

Suffering in silence

Few understand the struggles founders face when executing layoffs.

In short, it sucks. Try spending days repeating the same bad news to the people who will be laid off. It’s depressing and can leave emotional scars.

When I had to carry out layoffs a few years ago, I broke down halfway. But I had to continue the process. The guilt and pain lingered with me for a long time.

Layoff decisions are hard to make. No one wants to be that guy and it’s oftentimes the last card left to play. Yes, there are evil founders out there, but most of the ones I know build and serve with great intentions.

After layoffs, it’s natural that other employees will leave for various reasons, which would create gaps in operations. While plugging holes, founders have to keep morale high and communicate intensively on how the company will turn things around.

Privilege comes with risk

VC-funded growth

Just humans