Silicon Valley's Survival of the Fittest with Peter Walker of Carta

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Silicon Valley's Survival of the Fittest with Peter Walker of Carta

HR Heretics

Oct 17, 2024

Transcript

Peter Walker, Head of Insights at Carta, joins Nolan Church and Kelli Dragovich for a round 2 discussion to talk about the hidden currents reshaping the startup world.

From the brutal reality of today's hiring landscape to the unexpected reasons top companies avoid IPOs, Walker challenges conventional wisdom, exploring how the "Big Stay" phenomenon and emerging equity models are redefining employee-company relationships.

With startling data on fund performance and company shutdowns, this conversation poses a provocative question: Are we witnessing the end of the startup golden age, or the birth of a new, leaner ecosystem?

*Email us your questions or topics for Kelli & Nolan: hrheretics@turpentine.co

HR Heretics is a podcast from Turpentine.

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KEEP UP WITH PETER, NOLAN, + KELLI ON LINKEDIN

Peter: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterjameswalker/

Nolan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nolan-church/

Kelli: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellidragovich/

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LINKS:

Carta:

https://carta.com/data/

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TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00) Intro
(00:29) Hiring Market Remains Brutal
(05:06) Tenure Correlation in Layoffs
(10:08) The "Big Stay"
(10:15) Sponsor: Metaview
(11:27) Venture Ecosystem Driven by Investor Returns
(15:34) M&A Activity is Rising
(17:22) Emerging Fund Managers Under Pressure
(19:37) Employee Compensation Trends
(21:16) Company Valuations
(25:13) Dissonance Between IPO Market and Public Market Performance
(29:14) Series A and Beyond Round Activity
(32:05) Resetting Expectations in Venture
(37:38) Emerging Models for Employee Equity
(40:23) Equity Returning to the Pool
(42:16) The 90-Day Exercise Window
(43:48) Wrap

Discussion about this podcast

“HR Heretics” | How CPOs, CHROs, Founders, and Boards Build High Performing Companies

After a decade+ of “blitz-scaling” companies, HR, talent, and People leaders now face an uncertain economy that has already seen big booms and busts. What will it take to construct the next generation of incredible businesses – and where can people leaders have the most business impact?

Hosts Nolan Church and Kelli Dragovich have been through it all, the highs and the lows – IPOs, layoffs, executive turnover, board meetings, culture changes, and more. With a lineup of industry vets and experts, Nolan and Kelli break down the nitty-gritty details, trade offs, and dynamics of constructing high performing companies. Through unfiltered conversations that can only happen between seasoned practitioners – Kelli and Nolan dive deep into the kind of leadership-level strategy that often happens behind closed doors.

This show is for those who are ready to ditch conventional wisdom and figure out from first principles what works for their culture, business model, and industry, with the goal of building a resilient and enduring company. You’ll come away with real guidance for seeing around corners, building enduring companies, and carving out an impactful career – plus a newly-honed bullshit detector.

Topics frequently touched on in this season include: building high performing cultures, compensation negotiation, performance reviews, company design, equity, M&As, recruiting the best talent, and how to manage your own psychology as a people leader.

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