Hey, I’m Lindsay, the host of Make Sense w/ Lindsay T., Lady Engineer®, a weekly podcast where my guests and I simplify complex topics at the intersection of people & technology. We analyze whatever hot mess is in the news, evaluate trending innovations through a human-first lens, and take deep dives on a need-to-know basis.
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In 2021, some eight years after its founding, a corporate employee wellness startup reached “unicorn” status as a private company estimated to be worth $1 Billion. Within a year, customers were complaining. Their AI-powered matching algorithm that paired employees with coaches was leading employees to dead ends. If an employee didn’t like the three coaches they were matched with, the Startup’s AI left the employee with no other options, no way to recover from the matching error, and no options for customer support.
How do we reconcile this outrageous valuation with the poor quality of their product experience?
Indeed, the number of startup unicorns has grown from 49 to 352 over the past decade [1] and daily headlines make people from across industries feel like technology is moving fast. Yet, economic productivity indicators are stagnant [2], validating workers’ feelings of being on a massive hamster wheel.
Over dinner conversation, we trade anecdotal stories and predictions about people losing jobs to artificial intelligence. Have headlines and fundraising news left us fretting about an unrealized future case? After all, while it feels like we can’t upskill quickly enough, there were also 309 publicly disclosed startup deaths in 2023. Those startups raised $4.1B in equity from 2019 to 2022.
Outrageous valuations, big claims of monumental shifts, and gigantic sums of money lost.
The Startup Plan Starts with Outcomes Not Capital
Startup funding has dropped to a 6-year low over the past year due to rising interest rates. With less capital available, some tech industry leaders are content to blame this astronomical waste on the simple fact that cheap capital was available for them to spend. This is a lazy and shallow conclusion to draw, representing the type of ego and personality that have held this industry back from attaining valuable, long-promised, life-changing outcomes.
If you’re a leader who wants to do better with the advanced technology we have at our fingertips, this episode with tech executive, advisor, and angel investor Anthony Putignano covers the connection between venture capital and creative waste. In our conversation, Anthony expands on his post covering the zero-rate phenomenon (less phenomena, more sham).
The new playbook startups need is based on the fundamentals, and it never hurts to go back to the basics. Anthony and I talk about:
- The balance engineering needs to create the best solutions
- The obvious signs your team and company are creating reckless waste
- The art of product management and how to take smart risks versus designing for future failure
Continue for full show notes and minute markers.
Obvious Signs a Startup is Wasting Capital
When asked, “What are the most obvious signs a company is being wasteful?”
“The less obvious the business model is and the less a business is talking about the way they diretly monetize what they are creating, the more likely it is that there are a lot of optics at play and there’s cheap money involved to help them take multiple leaps to some eventual monetization. To me, that’s always the number one warning sign as you get deeper into an organization.”
– Anthony Putignano, Tech Executive, Advisor and Angel Investor
Buck the media hype cycle. Calm the fear-mongering. Laugh at the inanity of Tech CEO “hero culture.” Be the smartest person in your peer’s LinkedIn feed:
Show Notes
00:00 Introduction
01:44 Segment 1 – Crystal Ball: What Does the Future Hold?
2:09 – “Startup unicorns need a new playbook to survive”: Yes
4:26 – “The Democratisation of Technology: Next-generation technology like no-code design studios will enable non-professionals to ease the burden on corporate IT departments”: Yes
8:11 – “DIY software development upends engineering orgs” No, though they already function as “upended” (i.e. dysfunctional organizations)
13:05 Segment 2 – How did we get here? And what now? Understand why technology moves slower than the industry and media want us to believe.
13:30 What drags down creative technology teams?
18:16 Over-Engineering and Waste in Product Development
23:19 Disagreement on what is waste
23:56 Distinguishing between Software Developers and Engineers
29:27 Reducing Complexity
30:26 Thoughtful and Purposeful Innovation
37:07 Effective Planning and Resource Management
39:35 Segment 3 – What do you know? Get the inside scoop on some HOT MESS headlines
40:12 ‘A cesspool’: Laid-off California tech workers are sick to death of LinkedIn
41:54 “Most consumers hate the idea of AI-generated customer service”
43:13 “Russia is relying on unwitting Americans to spread election disinformation, US officials say”
Where to find Tech Executive and Investor Anthony Putignano
Anthony is a web technology veteran with extensive experience leading innovative B2B SaaS companies. Currently serving as an advisor, consultant, and angel investor to numerous startups and growth-stage companies, Anthony has also played the role of technology executive and founder over the 20 years prior.
Where to find Lindsay Tabas
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindsaytabas
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LindsayTLadyEngineer
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lindsaytladyengineer
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