This Is the Tech Startup Playbook to Follow When Money Is Tight.

Welcome, readers! I am Diamond Naga Siu, a senior reporter on Insider’s tech evaluation crew. I am so excited to formally take over 10 Issues in Tech from the sensible Jordan Erb Parker. What a technique to begin the Jordan Year — she’ll be missed.

Whereas we wipe away our tears, let’s dig in and make amends for tech. The 12 months is only some days previous, however a lot has already gone down. And it is most likely solely the appetizer for an much more chaotic 12 months. After a shaky tech market final 12 months with layoffs and hiring freezes, this 12 months is probably going going to be one other tough — and much more unpredictable — trip.

On immediately’s menu we’ve got electrical automobiles at a pivotal second, a chaotic again to work scenario, and extra. So let’s leap proper into it.

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1. That is the startup playbook to comply with when cash is tight. Much less funding goes into startups, so they have been compelled to pivot methods to regulate. As an alternative of getting cash from buyers, they’re taking out multiyear loans. And taking over so-called enterprise debt typically means adopting a brand new enterprise technique.

• In 2021, startups have been elevating cash at report tempo. However buyers obtained scared in 2022 when the tech business began to wobble. Entrepreneurs have been frightened about what the lower in obtainable  funds would imply for startups and innovation.
• The construction earlier than meant startups have been spending cash somebody gave them. This new construction is dangerous, since you might be spending cash you ultimately need to pay again.
• However buyers and founders instructed my teammate Emilia David that the transfer may really be good for startups. This change may break their dangerous habits by ending the times of free-spending and ushering in a brand new age of creativity.

Learn extra on the shifting startup panorama right here.

In different information:

2. 2023 is a make-or-break 12 months for Tesla wannabes. Electrical car startups like Rivian and Lucid face a pivotal 12 months after a bumpy 2022. Provide chain points, expertise turnover, and different hurdles hampered these corporations. However buyers would possibly lose their persistence this 12 months. That is what they should do to outlive.

3. Operation ‘Chaos Monkey 2023’ at Shopify. Welcome again from the vacations. All of your conferences are canceled. Message histories have been wiped. Each public Slack channel obtained shuttered. Learn extra about Shopify’s abrupt back-to-work adjustments right here.

4. Gen Z is revolutionizing the resume hole. The most recent era of employees (hey, it is me) is altering how employers see gaps in work expertise. Months or years between jobs was beforehand a crimson flag. That is how Gen Z is making it a constructive factor.

5. Take away pal — these are the highest Fb leaders who left final 12 months. Sheryl Sandberg, considered one of Fb’s most well-known execs, left the corporate in 2022. She was simply considered one of a number of high-profile departures from Meta after a tumultuous 12 months. Meet the others who bounced.

6. Studying recs from Elon Musk, Invoice Gates, and Jeff Bezos. These three bookworms have beneficial a bevy of excellent reads over time. The books vary from sci-fi novels to biographies. Listed here are 28 books that taught these billionaires about enterprise, management, and the world.

7. Elon Musk brings political advertisements again to Twitter. Jack Dorsey carried out the ban on political advertisements from Twitter in 2019. However now, Twitter Security mentioned: “Shifting ahead, we are going to align our promoting coverage with that of TV and different media shops.” Learn extra particulars on the reversal right here.

8. Sam Bankman-Fried pleads not responsible. Along with his mom sat two rows behind him within the public gallery, the FTX founder pleaded not responsible to fraud and conspiracy fees towards him. The US authorities opened the lawsuit towards Bankman-Fried for the collapse of his crypto alternate. Get an inside have a look at the listening to right here.

Odds and ends:

9. Every thing we find out about Volkswagen’s new electrical automotive. VW debuted the ID.7 sedan yesterday at CES, taking the lid off a automotive that is meant to compete with Tesla’s well-liked Mannequin 3. The sedan boasts a 15-inch touchscreen, superior local weather system, and extra. Take a look at all the small print right here.

10. That is the place World Warfare III may begin. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine final 12 months continues to catalyze concern that it may reinvigorate different geopolitical tensions. These are the opposite locations susceptible to internet hosting the subsequent world battle.

What we’re watching immediately:

Curated by Diamond Naga Siu in New York. (Suggestions or suggestions? Electronic mail dsiu@insider.com or tweet @diamondnagasiu) Edited by Matt Weinberger (tweet @gamoid) in San Francisco and Hallam Bullock (tweet @hallam_bullock) in London.