Year in Review
Looking back at the year in tech and VC
As we say goodbye to 2023, we’re taking a moment to reflect on a year marked by extraordinary challenges and unique opportunities.
The partners at Deciens offer a rich and diverse perspective on this rollercoaster year that tested the industry's strength and agility like never before. Explore some of their insights and lessons learned.
Ishan Sachdev, General Partner
2023 was a year of reckoning, reflecting, and resetting across the venture and technology industry. Reckoning with the reality of decisions made during the bubble years of 2020, 2021, and 2022 in the harsh light of 2023. Reflecting on strategies pursued, assumptions made, and things taken for granted in those years, which now all seem much more uncertain as precursors to success. And finally, resetting the implications for how the industry moves forward from here. Gone are the days when there appeared to be a conveyor belt to building multi-billion dollar businesses; we are now back in a world where nothing is guaranteed and the answers to the test are far from known.
It’s a reminder that the journey of creating something from nothing, developing a sustainable business, and overcoming all the obstacles along the way, is a hard one. Those who took a step back this year to dig deep into what has happened over the past few years and why, and reset on how they grow from here – as investors, funds, founders, and companies – are the ones poised to pave their path to success.
Vishal Rana, Partner
This past year, portfolio companies dedicated significant time to rethinking their product market fit and go-to-market strategies. Although this is normal for any early-stage company, the constrained fundraising market had an outsized influence.
Companies swiftly shifted to optimizing unit economics sooner than planned, striving to sip capital while achieving decent growth. The goal was to either ride out the extreme portion of the reset and/or grow into their previous valuations under the new prevailing multiples and metrics, aiming to post at least a flat round for their net fundraise. This environment hit particularly hard for companies selling to other venture-backed organizations. In addition to the above, they needed to get laser-focused on their value proposition – their clients were facing the same, less certain funding future and were similarly scrutinizing all spending. You had to be mission-critical, or you were out.
On a separate note, Deciens had an incredible year of maturation. We experienced our first year with a fully built-out team after Aelin, Maddie, and I joined in 2022. We introduced a variety of new norms, such as increased content generation, team offsites, and portfolio review rituals. While we continued to uphold many of our traditions like Dinner with Deciens and going big at Money20/20, we also experimented with new ones like a Taos retreat, a Community Circle program for our portfolio companies, and a monthly newsletter. At the same time, the things at our core – how we invest in and support incredible founders – remained unwavering.
Dan Kimerling, Managing Partner
As we close the chapter on 2023, it’s undeniable that the year presented a myriad of challenges on a number of fronts.
Obviously, many companies have struggled to retool themselves in this more restrictive capital environment. We saw a number of previously high-flying companies be humbled, including some even shutting down. We saw lots of people churn across the industry as burnout set in. There have also been many VCs who have been quietly quitting, shutting down their firms, or struggling to raise new funds.
Outside of work, the global stage was equally tumultuous. We witnessed ongoing conflicts, including the war in the Middle East and persistent strife in Ukraine, rising tensions over Taiwan, and a looming presidential election in the United States. These events collectively cast a shadow over the year and contributed to a general sentiment of unease. Suffice it to say, 2023 just kind of sucked.
Amidst these challenges, people were very inward-focused – on their firms, families, and existing portfolio companies. Some quietly retired. Some were too scared (rightly or wrongly) to do much at all.
Let's pour one out for 2023, as the vibe was no bueno. Cheers to moving on.
