SoylentNews

upstart writes:

After being laid off, many people are starting their own businesses as cloud pros for hire:

The recent tech industry layoffs are driving a wave of what some are calling "solopreneurs" doing gig work or independent contracting. Think DoorDash or Uber Eats, but instead of delivering Thai food, people are delivering key cloud advisory services or even completed cloud-based systems ready for deployment.

This is driven by the anticipation that a slowing economy is likely to drive down tech sales. But also, a cloud skills shortage is occurring simultaneously. We're not preparing enough cloud professionals to keep up with demand, but, at the same time, tech companies are laying them off. Go figure.

This has been evolving for years as workers understand the value of the gig economy and may be looking for more independence and less employment reliance on the larger technology players. Many technology professionals are exploring more entrepreneurial options instead of opting for standard full-time jobs and cushy benefits with companies that can't guarantee a job for life—and never could.

Indeed, 63% of tech workers report they have started their own company post-layoff, according to a recent survey of 1,000 professionals laid off in recent years. Most of these new ventures (83%) exist in the technology industry, especially cloud computing.

[...] I suspect that many of these entrepreneurs will reach a valuation of many millions of dollars (depending on the type of cloud tech business) after a couple of years and average growth. I've seen this personally a great many times. Beats most 401(k)s.

Also interesting, according to the survey, 93% report they are now competing with the company that let them go. [...]

This will have an overall positive effect on the technology industry and cloud computing specifically, given that these types of businesses drive more innovation. They are not hindered by large corporate governance and company politics. Creativity and innovation are directly rewarded with sales and higher business value. This will also increase the number of wealthy people in the technology industry since this model will better disburse wealth among more technology industry contributors.

Original Submission