Fear and Loathing Return to Tech Start-Ups

Workers are dumping their stock, companies are cutting costs, and layoffs abound as troubling economic forces hit tech start-ups.

Start-up workers came into 2022 expecting another year of cash-gushing initial public offerings. Then the stock market tanked, Russia invaded Ukraine, inflation ballooned, and interest rates rose. Instead of going public, start-ups began cutting costs and laying off employees.

People started dumping their start-up stock, too.