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What a Year

December 2023 Market Commentary
By:
Jordan Wan

It’s been a transformative year, with hard but necessary changes.

When we look back at 2023, BenchSights’ chart sums it up: sharp rate hikes led to greater cost of revenue. Reduced demand and over-engineered GTM organizations forced many startups to downshift significantly.

Founders who acted quickly are now rewarded for their courage and decisiveness. Those who endured early cycle RIFs are now feeling capacity constraints as the market recovers. In Q4, GTM hiring picked back up, with a renewed focus on marketing, functional leaders, and end-to-end sales capacity. Gone are the days of hypersegmented GTM organizations and droves of SDRs.

As members of the innovation economy, it’s our nature to be perennial optimists. We believe in Q1 we’ll see early macro recovery coinciding with a recalibrated set of budgets, hiring plans, and achievable quotas.

We wish you all a healthy and safe holiday period. Here’s to a 2024 filled with global diplomacy, multiple rate cuts, and many up rounds in your portfolio.

Insights

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