What a decade this yr has been. While prediction items all the time include a big asterisk as a result of nobody is aware of actually something about what might play out sooner or later — akin to large shocks to massive startup sectors — our views about 2022 have aged … apparently.
Last yr, Natasha Mascarenhas, Alex Wilhelm, and Anna Heim spotlighted three completely different startup theses which will outline the approaching 12 months. Now, we’re fact-checking how correct these predictions had been, plus what we’d change about our views. We know. Humble.
For an gentle vacation riff, we’re speaking about what occurred with the M&An area, open supply, and usage-based pricing. Let’s have some enjoyable!
Natasha: Let’s discuss acquisitions
Last yr, I predicted that M&A would evolve to incorporate a riskier kind of ambition. I cited Twitter’s starvation for a Slack competitor and Nike’s infatuation with NFT collectibles. I even reminded founders that startups have to “stay disciplined even amid a cash-rich environment” as an alternative of “spinning up lukewarm climate and web3 strategies because that’s what they think their cap table wants to hear.” (And that tradition and expertise are exhausting to combine on the similar time).