As the startup landscape evolves, so do hiring strategies. With Big Tech downsizing and the labor market tightening, founders must navigate a conservative job market to attract and retain top talent.
The hiring landscape in 2025 will offer challenges and opportunities for those who can adapt. Founders now hold increased leverage, but respect for staff and retention of key players remain vital. How can entrepreneurs strike this balance?
Join us at TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 at Moscone West in San Francisco from October 28-30, for a conversation with Heather Doshay, partner, People & Talent of SignalFire; Lauren Illovsky, talent partner of CapitalG; and Roger Lee, CEO of Comprehensive.io to explore innovative hiring strategies that align with changing market conditions.
Meet the speakers
Heather Doshay, Partner, People & Talent, SignalFire
Heather Doshay brings nearly two decades of experience guiding startups toward success through strategic talent management. At SignalFire, a venture firm designed to meet founders’ needs with cutting-edge technology, Heather leverages her expertise to help companies capitalize on the talent flooding the market. Before joining SignalFire, Heather held executive roles at Webflow and Rainforest QA, and led the Candidate Marketplace at Hired. Her deep understanding of recruitment in the tech sector makes her a key voice on the current shift in hiring dynamics and how startups can recruit top performers in a post-pandemic world.
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Lauren Illovsky, Talent Partner, CapitalG
Lauren Illovsky leads talent strategy across CapitalG’s portfolio, working closely with founders to refine executive recruiting and organizational development. Having previously worked at Accel and Andreessen Horowitz, Lauren’s experience spans various aspects of talent management, from helping CEOs transition out of their roles to identifying board members who can drive long-term success. Her deep insights into startup leadership make her an invaluable resource for founders who are navigating complex hiring challenges, particularly in the competitive startup ecosystem.
Roger Lee, CEO, Comprehensive.io
Roger Lee has revolutionized the way companies manage compensation with Comprehensive.io, which automates complex compensation processes. His company is dedicated to streamlining compensation management and increasing pay transparency, key factors in both recruiting and retaining talent in today’s competitive market. As the creator of Layoffs.fyi, a website tracking tech industry layoffs, Roger is uniquely attuned to the shifts in employment trends and compensation strategies in the tech world. Roger can offer practical solutions to founders grappling with compensation complexities in a tight labor market.
We’ve rebooted regular ticket prices for TechCrunch Disrupt 2024, giving you one last chance to save big before the event. Enjoy up to $600 off individual tickets until September 27.
Disrupt 2024 is the ultimate startup hub, taking place at Moscone West in San Francisco from October 28-30. Join 10,000 startup, tech, and VC leaders; engage with top minds in over 200 sessions of meaningful discussions; gain valuable insights from industry giants; and so much more.
Listen to leading industry voices as they dive into the startup and tech ecosystem across six industry-specific stages — AI, SaaS, Fintech, Builders, Space, and the Main Disrupt Stage.
A highlight of every Disrupt has always been Startup Battlefield 200, where a few chosen startups will pitch to a panel of top VC leaders. The winner will earn a $100,000 equity-free prize and the coveted Disrupt Cup.
The judging panel includes industry heavyweights like Christine Esserman, partner at Accel; Sangeen Zeb, general partner at Google Ventures; Alice Brooks, partner at Khosla Ventures; Victor Lazarte, general partner at Benchmark; and many more.
Their feedback offers valuable insight into what makes a startup successful. Get a front-row seat to this expert evaluation and discover the qualities that drive success, only at Disrupt 2024.
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Unparalleled networking
Make the right connections at every phase of your career or startup journey. Whether you’re a first-time founder, a seasoned entrepreneur, a recent graduate looking for your first tech job, or someone transitioning after a layoff, Disrupt offers networking opportunities for everyone.
Connect with fellow attendees in the bustling Expo Hall, the central hub for all 10,000 Disrupt participants. Discover groundbreaking innovations from pre-seed startups and industry leaders in this dynamic space.
Dive into detailed discussions through 1:1 or small-group Braindates. Use the Braindate app to post or look for your topics of interest, and then connect face-to-face in the Braindate Lounge at the event to delve deeper into these ideas. It’s a great way to have impactful conversations with like-minded professionals.
Continue the excitement of the main event during “Disrupt Week,” running from October 26 to November 1. With more than 50 Side Events, including happy hours, comedy nights, workshops, and meetups, you’ll find countless opportunities to connect and engage after hours.
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Deep-dive sessions
Explore more than 200 sessions designed to build connections and delve into key issues with industry experts, focusing on the pressing challenges encountered by today’s entrepreneurs.
Engage in a 30-minute collaborative Roundtable with an industry expert in a personal setting. Or join a 50-minute Q&A session on a first-come, first-served basis.
Claim the final ticket reboot for Disrupt 2024
There are countless other reasons to attend one of the year’s most anticipated tech events, but it’s best to experience it for yourself.
This is the last chance for ticket discounts before the Disrupt 2024 countdown starts! Register before September 27 at 11:59 p.m. PT to enjoy savings of up to $600. Grab your discount here.
The Plucky Squire is a game that leaps off the page — literally. It takes place in a storybook world rendered in an adorable two dimensions thanks to codirector and former Pokémon artist James Turner. But at certain points, the heroic lead character can venture into the real world and solve puzzles that mix 2D and 3D in inventive ways. Sometimes, you’re moving objects between dimensions; other times, you’re rearranging the words in a book to create new outcomes. It’s as cute as it is creative, and it follows Sony’s Astro Bot in what is turning out to be a very good year for family-friendly games.
The game puts you in the role of Jot, the titular plucky squire, who has the unusual ability to exist outside of the book he stars in. The two worlds are drastically different: inside the storybook is bright, colorful, and simple, while the real world is appropriately dark and realistic. They’re distinct, but through Jot, the worlds intersect as he sets about saving the book from an evil wizard. Solving puzzles involves flipping through pages to pull items from the past, using language to bypass barriers, and occasionally boxing a bear. It’s silly and heartfelt and, at times, calls to mind the 2D segments in Nintendo classics Super Mario Odyssey and The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds.
“The idea of contrast was really important to the game.”
For Turner, the initial idea for the game came during a lull, when he had just left Pokémon developer Game Freak but hadn’t yet started work at All Possible Futures, the studio he cofounded with Jonathan Biddle. “I left Game Freak, and then I had nothing to do,” he tells The Verge. “To fill that void, I started drawing a webcomic.” That comic, called Cosmic, included a number of characters and ideas that would eventually make their way into The Plucky Squire as its storybook narrative took shape.
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For Turner — who frequently posts hilarious mashup illustrations and who designed notable pokémon like Polteageist — one of the goals of the game was to create a unique clash of styles. Not only should the dimensions in The Plucky Squire play different, but they should look different as well. It’s an idea that came about early in development; initially, when Jot jumped into the real world, he was cel-shaded to keep his cartoony style. Eventually, though, it became clear that a more realistic, almost toy-like version of the character worked better.
Image: All Possible Futures
“It reduced the realism of the outside world quite significantly in a strange way,” Turner says of the cel shading. “Even though the outside world was very real, if the object that you’re looking at 90 percent of the time [isn’t], it starts to affect how you see the rest of the world.” He adds that “the idea of contrast was really important to the game.”
A good example is early on in The Plucky Squire when Jot is in search of a bow-and-arrow to complete a quest. This involves jumping through a portal into the real world, navigating a very messy desk filled with obstacles, and then jumping into a card ripped out of Magic: The Gathering to battle an elf. When Jot finally reaches his destination, there are three distinct art styles onscreen: storybook 2D, realistic 3D, and detailed fantasy art. “I thought that clash of styles would be the most jaw-dropping,” Turner explains.
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“There’s a big gap outside of Nintendo.”
Outside of its visuals, The Plucky Squire is also notable for being an experience that works really well for all ages. The action and puzzles have just enough depth to them to be satisfying while not being intimidating for younger or less experienced players. It’s like a streamlined Zelda adventure, with some nice quality-of-life features, like an optional hint system that doesn’t give too much away. It’s a style of game that can be hard to find outside of something from Nintendo (which includes the upcoming Echoes of Wisdom). But titles like Astro Bot and The Plucky Squire are showing it’s possible for other developers, as well.
“There are lots of people that want to play those games, and they haven’t been catered to as much as they possibly should have been,” says Turner. “It does feel like there’s a big gap outside of Nintendo where it would be nice if we had those games more regularly. There’s a need for them.”
The Plucky Squire is out now on the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, Xbox, and PC.
Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now nearly 1,000 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today – or scroll down further for the answers.
What letters do today’s Quordle answers start with?
• Z
• M
• A
• D
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Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON’T WANT TO SEE THEM.
Quordle today (game #972) – the answers
(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)
The answers to today’s Quordle, game #972, are…
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It’s been a while since we’ve had an uncommon letter in Quordle – you’d have to go back to SEIZE on September 10. And as with that game, it was a Z that appeared today to make things more complicated. I needed all nine guesses to complete today’s puzzle, partly due to that letter tripping me up for ZESTY, but it wasn’t the only word I struggled with. DRAWN also caused me problems (and W is another fairly uncommon letter), and this wasn’t a game I sailed through with ease.
In a basement beneath City St George’s, University of London, senior leaders from NATO watch as four research teams from the UK, US, Netherlands and Austria, showcase their AI-controlled, autonomous drones. The groups are competing against each other as part of the NATO-funded SAPIENCE programme, designed to accelerate progress with this emerging technology, particularly in a world where drones on the battlefield are changing warfare, as demonstrated in Ukraine.
“We are still trying to understand what are the impacts of drones,” says Claudio Palestini, head of NATO’s Science for Peace and Security programme. “We have regular contact with Ukraine where we understand what they are doing with technology,” he says. “NATO is adapting to this new way of fighting, we are developing some concepts in the drone warfare sphere.”
While there are applications on the battlefield, Palestini is keen to stress that there is a dual nature to NATO’s work. “What we do [at NATO’s Science for Peace and Security programme], it’s not purely military,” he says. “We want to have technology development that can be used in the commercial sector, but also in the defence sector. And this is where cooperation with Ukraine helps.” Such work has echoes of the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
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In London, the first of four events gets under way, simulating an indoor search and rescue scenario in an environment where GPS won’t work that is akin to the aftermath of a natural disaster. The team from City St George’s deploys two autonomous drones working cooperatively in a swarm configuration, with deep-learning algorithms driving navigation.
“We’re the only ones that used a neural network,” says Thomas Hickling, a PhD student and member of the team, highlighting how the group thinks this form of AI is better for mapping damaged infrastructure. Speed and reliability are also considerations, especially in life-saving scenarios. “We decided to use two drones as it’s much quicker and increases reliability,” says Hickling. “If one drone fails, you’ve got another one automatically. You can take over the jobs of the other drone.”
Future SAPIENCE events will test the teams’ technology in outdoor and mixed environments, performing a range of simulated tasks. While presented as a competition, Palestini sees this as a driving force behind acceleration and cooperation in the field. “We don’t expect to have a single winner,” he says. “We will have some sort of ranking, but all the ideas are good.”
Believe it or not, there’s only been one live-action Marvel series on Disney+ in 2024 prior to September. The nine-month drought is over thanks to the arrival of Agatha All Along, giving fans of WandaVision a semi-sequel series. But we might have to wait until March 2025 for the next Marvel show if there’s really nothing between Agatha All Along and Daredevil: Born Again.
In the meantime, younger Star Wars fans also have something to enjoy this month called LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy. It’s a pretty wild take on the Star Wars universe, as only LEGO could provide. But if you want more mature fare, Disney’s going to make you shell out more for Hulu just so you can watch Shogun, The Bear, Only Murders in the Building, and other shows on the Disney+ app that you already have. If that makes you unhappy, just remember that Disney+ is raising its prices again in October. Surely that will bring a smile to your face as you look over the best shows on Disney+ right now.
If you’re not already subscribed, the Disney Bundle is worth considering. With it, you get Disney+, ESPN, and the ad-supported Hulu plan, making it an impressive value for the price. You’ll enjoy new Disney content, live sports coverage, and Hulu’s various originals.
OxygenOS, the heart of the OnePlus smartphones, is currently on its version 14. The company is now working on the OxygenOS 15 update. The brand will unveil the latest iteration of its custom Android skin in late September or early October, suggest the reports. While the brand hasn’t teased much about the upcoming version, folks over at SmartPrix have revealed quite a few details. It looks like the OxygenOS 15 takes inspiration from iOS and will borrow a lot of features from Apple’s OS.
Many core UI elements of OxygenOS 15 take heavy inspiration from iOS
People over at the tech publication SmartPrix were able to get an opportunity to beta-test OxygenOS 15. The source suggests that OxygenOS 15 takes heavy inspiration from iOS and brings an iOS-like volume panel, Dynamic Island-like notifications, and more. The OxygenOS 15 update will bring a brand new Control Center design. The source says the new Control Center looks like “If HyperOS and iOS had a baby”.
OnePlus took inspiration from iOS while designing the volume panel in OxygenOS 15. The new volume slider will “start out as a larger slider but shrinks to a narrow width” when you tap on it again, just like in iOS. The source highlights that swiping down from the top right of the display will trigger the Quick Settings panel.
If you swipe down from the left, you will get the notification shade. Also, the OnePlus users will be able to customize the Quick Settings panel as per their liking by rearranging tiles.
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A Dynamic Island-inspired notification system is coming with the OxygenOS 15 update
Furthermore, the report suggests that A Dynamic Island-inspired notification system is coming to OnePlus devices with the upcoming OxygenOS update. Much like the Dynamic Island on iOS, it will now sit on top of the center punch hole. In addition, the camera app on a phone running OxygenOS 15 allows you to shoot live photos. Once again, this is very much like iOS, which calls it Live Photos.
Notably, the source suggests that the OnePlus users will not have to wait too long to test out the aforementioned features. The first beta version of OxygenOS 15 is expected to be released by the end of this month. If that doesn’t happen then early October is the best bet.
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