Triangle investors have some strong opinions about 2021 and the challenges they’re expecting to face in 2022.
Triangle Inno asked local venture capitalists to finish this sentence: 2021 was the year of ...
Here's what they said.
“Record amounts of cash raised,” said Jason Caplain, co-founder of Durham’s Bull City Venture Partners. “Record amounts of cash distributed.”
“Getting back to business after implementing Covid-necessitated modifications,” said Art Pappas of Durham’s Pappas Capital.
“Pent up demand,” said David Gardner, head of Cofounders Capital in Cary.
“Too much capital at outrageous valuations,” said Mitch Mumma, co-founder of Intersouth Partners in Durham.
“The Unicorn,” answered John Cambier of Durham-based IDEA Fund Partners.
But 2022 could be an entirely different animal as startups look to match those lofty goals with results. Mumma said the biggest challenge in the year ahead will be “growing into the valuation of the last round of financing. Similarly, Cambier predicts startups’ biggest challenge in 2022 might just be “growing fast enough to support lofty valuations of 2021.”
Another challenge? Navigating the new world. Pappas said he expects figuring out how, when or even if they should return to in-person work will be the big conundrum.
In a tight labor market, Gardner expects recruiting to be top of mind for startups in 2022. And Caplain agrees.
“We have already seen it, but the problem will get worse,” he said of hiring challenges. “We are guiding companies to increase their budget for salaries for 2022 in order to be competitive. Also, some companies are still learning how to effectively train and ramp new employees, given many companies are still remote.”