The young kings of Silicon Valley who rode their unicorn are dismounting today. They write emotional blog posts that take stock. They want the best for their business. They resign from their position at the head of the start-ups they have created.
In recent weeks, Ben Silbermann, co-founder of the social network Pinterest, relinquished his title as CEO; Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia announced he was stepping down from running the company; Apoorva Mehta, founder of grocery delivery app Instacart, said he would step down as CEO when the company goes public with a planned IPO by the end of the year.
These resignations sign the end of an era in these companies which have been among the best known in Silicon Valley for a decade and among those with the greatest value. These companies are also emblematic of their time. In recent years, investors have poured increasingly phenomenal sums into a few very highly valued start-ups, dubbed the unicorns, i.e. estimated at $1 billion. [environ 1 milliard d’euros] or more.
The creators of these companies were considered visionary heroes. They fought for special ownership rights in order to maintain control of their company, whereas traditionally entrepreneurs were often replaced by more experienced managers or were pressured to sell their shares.
However, when stock markets crashed this year — an event that hit tech companies that aren’t turning a profit — the tide turned. Venture capitalists have urged their beloved start-ups to cut costs and tread carefully. The industry has started talking about “crisis CEOs” who can do more with less. Patience with visionaries has worn thin. Companies run by their founders have been seen as liabilities and no longer as assets.
These bosses don’t leave at the height of their glory
“All that changed in ninety days and the situation will not be restored any time soon”, says Wil Schroter, creator of [la plateforme en ligne] Startups.com, which helps new businesses grow. According to him, the so-called method “we’ll see later” bored investors.
Besides Ben Silbermann, Joe Gebbia and Apoorva Mehta, some of the founders of Twitter, Peloton, Me