Business is growing again while manpower is less needed – kids should catch up and become relevant again
Markets are right up after the elections – and so is the pipeline climbing up fast after a few slow months prior.
S&P flies high, so is crypto, the Fed slashed another 25 basis points, and companies are unblocking end of year budgets + there’s positivity in the air for next year. Our CRM is buzzing, and even intros from partners and former accounts are being activated again.
(More detailed stats on the market, as usual, further down the bulletin)
The market is in a better shape – or at least the purchasing behaviors are north. In business, scarcity can freeze trillions of dollars, hence trust and confidence in markets is even more important than the actual P&L.
Forecasting more layoffs
Gif by IntoAction on Giphy
What we do see clearly, though is: B2Bs are reluctant to hire today.
- Backlashes and ongoing wars with “Return to office” mandates
- Conflicts with talent that made it to the office, but doesn’t pan out (culture, productivity, alignment)
- The job market offers a larger pool of candidates, but expectations still resemble the 2021-2022 job market – and that’s no longer what the business is willing to pay premium for
- Lack of understanding of AI trends and the new pace at work
- Performance productivites with AI augmentation on the job
- New disruptive SaaS tools and productized services offering 80% of the job for 10% of the cost
All things considered, there’s a race to the bottom price in software met with a productivity boost exercise for delivering more with less.
As FTEs are failing to adapt for the most part, layoffs will keep happening until the gap between business needs + opportunities and applicant culture + reality check is smaller.
Gen Zs aren’t helping
First of all, I clearly want to refrain from tagging labels and generalizing for the sake of being the grumpy old man in this situation.
Historically, every generation feels the one before them had better job prospects/access to healthcare/real estate and the one coming after is spoiled, not as hardworking, and should push for more.
Still, the longer we live in peace and prosperity, and Maslow’s pyramid of needs is satisfied on every core level – the less young people are eager to put in the time to work, vs. scrolling TikTok and Insta reels, planning another digital nomad experience, and chase other goals that should be “a given”.
Here’s what HubSpot explored for Gen Zs in a workplace.
HubSpot study on Gen Z
To recap, the young generation that hasn’t yet had the chance to actually contribute to the workspace (develop strong strategy or strategic leadership, build, nurture, train teams, invest back or support the ecosystem simply because Gen Zs are ages 12 to 27), the cure goals for the vast majority are:
- High pay (compensated for lack of skills yet)
- Work-life balance (yes, we get it, remote working, digital nomad, flex hour, slow sprints)
- Follow your passions (romantic)
- Generous benefits (add to pay and travel)
- Company values (every company has mission/vision)
- Job security (don’t fire while on vacation)
- Sociable coworkers (coffee breaks and chill after hours – still just 6% because while traveling to Thailand it doesn’t matter as much)
As this is the new generation applying for jobs right now, all the job security we’ve been designing and providing from 2014-5 to 2022 has contributed to that comfort level of being able to find a job no matter what, and travel a lot thanks to the pandemic.
Now, with more job prospects, more AI tools, and lower demand, businesses are raising the bar on job requirements – and we’re seeing some paradoxical results with no reality check in sight.
Even service businesses switch to inverse SaaS
Another common trend lately is designing for “Service-as-a-software” which I personally call “inverse SaaS”.
Here’s what foundation capital reports in this great chart:
by foundation capital
You can find the full article here and the byline is “The push towards services represents a $4.6 trillion opportunity.“
Thanks to AI agents and this oversupply of talent meeting low or unpredictable productivity, the push for replacing full-time jobs and roles with robots is going strong.
Yes, robots won’t ever replace humans fully. But all mundane and generic button-clicking roles will get automated in the coming years. The pressure toward business to hire will be released, and only capable AI operators will remain employed, managing processes and controlling the underlying machines.
This push is certainly happening here – just as we’re now scaling a network of 20+ internal sites with a couple of agents and 3 people helping out in Growth Shuttle (what we previously needed an army of marketers for just two years ago).
- If you want to work with me on adapting your own agent-based strategy, check my async advisory services
- If you want a full-service agency implementing everything from start to end, talk to DevriX
Yours,
Mario
My Take
✍️ 10 Hidden B2B Markets You Never Knew Existed- Ever thought industries like e-commerce, events, or digital services were strictly B2C? There’s more to the story. We’re diving into 10 surprising sectors that are thriving in the B2B world. From logistics to finance, these niches are powered by business-to-business transactions that drive serious growth. We’ll take a closer look at why these industries lean heavily on B2B strategies, how they secure revenue from business clients, and what it all means for the broader market. Whether you’re in sales, marketing, or just interested in unique business models, this rundown will give you a fresh perspective on the B2B landscape.
✍️ 2025 Budget Planning – CFOs keep scratching their heads as 2025 budget planning is right around the corner. I speak daily with CMOs and CROs chasing offers and quotes and scheduling reviews and audits last minute. As the space gets disrupted, investments get challenged. Putting this against an SDR army in a commoditized market is a clear no-brainer.
Newsletter Recommendations
📧 Visual Capitalist – Visual Capitalist is one of the fastest growing publishers globally, focused on topics including markets, technology, energy, and the global economy. Sign up here!
📧 WPTavern – is the broader Town Square newsletter for the masses. I recommend it to people outside of the community, too. WP Tavern is a warm and inviting community where those interested in the software can hang out with fellow WordPressers to engage in enlightening discussions. Sign up here!
Business Strategy
📃 Seller and product ratings in shopping ads. Google is displaying seller and product ratings in Shopping ads, allowing brands to showcase both store reliability and product quality. Seller ratings reflect the overall store experience, including shipping, customer service and packaging. Product ratings are tied to individual items, covering quality, features, usability and customer satisfaction.
📃 Google Ads Editor 2.8 is out. Google has released version 2.8 of the Google Ads Editor. This new update brings several new features including AI-generated images, export to Google Sheets, brand guidelines, image cropping, strict age and gender targeting, a new help center and more. Google released version 2.7 in June and Version 2.6 was released in March 2024 and version 2.5 was released in November 2023. Google Ads Editor is a free, downloadable application for managing your Google Ads campaigns. The tool aims to save time and make it easier to make changes in bulk.
📃 FTX vs Binance. FTX filed a lawsuit against Binance Holdings Ltd. and its former Chief Executive Officer Changpeng Zhao, seeking to claw back almost $1.8 billion it alleges was fraudulently transferred by Sam Bankman-Fried. Binance, Zhao and other Binance executives received the funds as part of a July 2021 share repurchase deal with Bankman-Fried, the FTX co-founder who is now in prison. In that transaction, they sold stakes of about 20% in FTX’s international unit and 18.4% in its US-based entity, according to a legal filing from the FTX estate on Sunday.
📃 Salesforce to hire 1000 workers for AI product sales. Agentforce is a new layer on the Salesforce platform, designed to enable companies to build and deploy AI agents that autonomously perform tasks. According to Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, the move aims to capitalise on the “amazing momentum” of Agentforce.
📃 The #EndTheFed movement. Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, the billionaire backer of newly minted President-elect Donald Trump, endorsed the idea of allowing presidents to intervene in Federal Reserve policy. Musk’s comment came after Fed Chair Jerome Powell said he would not resign from his post if Trump asked him to do so.
Global News
📈 In an interview with Jack Farley’s Monetary Matters Network, van Geelen said his basket differentiated itself from some of the sell-side equivalents because he was not restricted by a bank’s research coverage. And he said one value of his basket was the signal it provided, which provided an insight independent of the betting markets and led them ahead of the election.
- S&P 500: $5,983(-0.29%)
📈 Market mortgage rates shift up and down as the economy changes, new data becomes public and lenders decide how much risk they’re willing to tolerate on a given day.
The Fed doesn’t outright determine fixed mortgage rates, but its decisions matter. Mortgages tend to increase or decrease with the 10-year Treasury yield, the effective yield rate on 10-year Treasury notes. The 10-year yield rises when there’s less demand for notes — and this tends to happen when investors feel confident in the economy, including monetary policy.
- 30-year mortgage rate: 6.90%(-0.03)
- 15-year mortgage rate: 6.21%(+0.01)
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Two days after the US election last week, the Federal Reserve cut interest rates by a quarter of a point to a range of 4.5 to 4.75 per cent. That was expected. Much more of a surprise was the aggressive tone Fed chair Jay Powell took to questions on his future under the Trump administration.
📰 Here are some of the most prominent headlines this week:
- US authorities have grounded all flights to Haiti for 30 days after two planes from the US were struck by bullets
- A federal judge temporarily blocks a Louisiana law requiring that the Ten Commandments be displayed in public classrooms
- A decision on whether to overturn Trump’s New York hush money conviction has been delayed.
Investment News
📈 SeedBlink Secondary Market surpasses €3,7M in transaction volume – As we look back on SeedBlink’s secondary market performance in 2024, it’s clear that the platform is entering an important phase of growth. Let’s see some of the offers this week”:
- Sense4Fit– Sense4Fit is upgrading the fitness experience by combining AI, blockchain, and community engagement to offer a comprehensive, gamified fitness ecosystem. With a user-friendly app, franchise gym locations, and fitness summits, Sense4Fit aims to make fitness more accessible and engaging.
- Klarna – Klarna, a global fintech leader, has evolved beyond “buy now, pay later,” serving 150M users across 45 countries with over 500,000 retail partners.
- SiGaN – SiGaN, a Swiss DeepTech startup, is developing power electronics solutions designed to make electrical devices more efficient and sustainable.
Note: Got a round going that you want to feature – your own business or a portfolio company? Get in touch.
Let’s see the latest offers from Flippa. Don’t forget to sign up for their newsletter for daily/weekly/monthly offers such as these.
Turnkey Digital Marketing Agency – This lead generation business for home repair and restoration work features a high-converting sales funnel and drives traffic organically and through optimized ad accounts.
- Monthly profit: $5,809
- Organic traffic: 55%
- Business age: 5 years
Cold Press Juicer Ecommerce– This ecommerce store featuring cold press juicing and water machines has generated a TTM revenue of $188.6K.
- Monthly profit: $4,175
- Average order value: $373
- Business age: 7 years
AI-Driven Marketing SaaS – This marketing SaaS platform connects businesses with ideal customers through social engagement analysis and community management tools.
- Monthly profit: $9,109
- Active subscribers: 109
- Business age: 2 years
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