Just to close the book on 2022, it was a bruising year for startups. Layoffs were of 2001 proportions. Many expect 2023 to be another challenging year. After an investment downturn in 2022, VCs are sitting on mountains of capital to deploy, and many investors are telling portfolio companies not to plan on raising capital this year. As a result, startups are slowing headcount growth and preparing for worst-case scenarios. As it was, tech layoffs in 2022 happened faster than during the pandemic. Yeah, last year sucked. But what about 2023? Can we be optimistic? Absolutely.