Working in Tech startups had become a bell curve game over the last few years because of ZIRP while it was always supposed to be a power law game. The reality is that most startups have always died, and will continue to die. There was never any job security in startups, and it will continue to be the case going forward. The last 5 years were a mirage.

We don’t need as many PMs. As many direct reports. No guaranteed promos based on tenure. There is no guarantee of X% hike every year.

People are still debating snacks in pantry. RTO. Company policies. Instead of figuring out how they can win.

I remember reading somewhere that over time tech would become like PE/ Hedge funds. Fewer jobs. Larger outcomes for the winners. Very high risk, but high reward. People will need to make sacrifices. You can’t expect power law outcome without power law sacrifices.

No one should expect to make 10X the salary of a person working a non tech job job, fresh out of college, that too without any sacrifice. Expect to become an EM with 3 years experience in a startup without the risk of the startup running out of cash.

Sounds harsh. But either you accept the new reality or keep cribbing on Blind.

Do everyone need to grind? No. You can always take a safer job. Choose the slow pace of growth. Choose work life balance. There is nothing wrong with it. We all operate in a market place. There is no ‘we are all family and take care of each other’ in the workplace. Airbnb lied. It is a case of simple supply and demand. When people were switching jobs for double their salaries every year, it did not mean that their skills or value provided in the job had doubled. Now that there are layoffs and salary cuts, it also does not mean that you are suddenly bad and deserve to be jobless.

It is the market.

I have been tweeting the same thing for the last few years. I am not an eternal optimist. Nor a cynic. Just a realist.