Into the driveways Silicon Valley often offers access to a smart mentor, a well-connected venture capitalist, or even a startup rocket.
But an emerging class of founders is reminding the ecosystem how collapse can also be an activator. Laid-off talent is pouring in to build startups across all industries, from climate to crypto to the creator economy. And they hope to correct the course where their alma maters — Big Tech companies and small upstarts alike — have gone wrong.
New data from Day One Ventures, a venture firm that supports seed-stage founders, shows the seedlings beginning to flower. Founder and GP Masha Bucher, who left her former life in Russia as a politician and TV reporter to become a venture capitalist, started a program to help potential founders in the wake of the recent Stripe and Twitter layoffs.
She said she’s confident that at least 0.1% to 1% of the thousands of tech workers laid off this year could become incredible founders.
