When Tailwinds Vanish - by John Luttig - luttig's learnings

The Internet tailwinds that propelled Silicon Valley’s meteoric growth for decades are stalling out. The ripple effects will jolt the tech industry. In the late 1990s, the tailwinds began when Internet usage surged from a nerdy hobby on the West Coast to a global household necessity. Since then, the Internet has consumed an ever-increasing percentage of consumers’ time and money. Smartphones and social networks became ubiquitous. These tailwinds swept businesses, too. Enterprises SaaS spend has skyrocketed by more than an order of magnitude. A Cambrian Explosion of cloud infrastructure and business tools shattered capex barriers to starting companies. As market tailwinds grew at 20%+ CAGR, the market dynamics shifted so quickly that incumbents couldn’t react, leaving room for startups to emerge. When SaaS spend grew 50% per year, it was hard not to find green pastures as a new software startup. And consumers doubling their Internet spend and smartphone usage simultaneously every couple

The Internet tailwinds that propelled Silicon Valley’s meteoric growth for decades are stalling out. The ripple effects will jolt the tech industry. In the late 1990s, the tailwinds began when Internet usage surged from a nerdy hobby on the West Coast to a global household necessity. Since then, the Internet has consumed an ever-increasing percentage of consumers’ time and money. Smartphones and social networks became ubiquitous. These tailwinds swept businesses, too. Enterprises SaaS spend has skyrocketed by more than an order of magnitude. A Cambrian Explosion of cloud infrastructure and bus