As the recession gets closer job losses have increased sharply across Silicon Valley in recent weeks.
Those working in the industry are worried about technology start-ups and cannot forget the dotcom bust in 2001. What"s different this time? Companies making the cuts and decisions have seen the market issues coming as the credit crunch has taking its time to show us its full impact. This time around many believe the industry is better prepared.
Seesmic is a video micro blogging web application developed by French entrepreneur Loic Le Meur. The site has been up and running for a year now and originally caught the attention of popular blogger Robert Scoble. In May, Steven Spielberg and other cast members of Indiana Jones 4 appeared on Seesmic to promote the film.
Recently, Loic Le Meur, founder of Seesmic, has made 10 of his 24 workers redundant. In a blog post the entrepreneur blamed a need to reduce costs "in order to establish Seesmic as a solid business and pursue success of the company for years to come."
In an interview with the Financial Times, Le Meur said "I think the situation is very, very serious," he added "From my network of entrepreneur friends, half of them are in a critical situation for the next six to 12 months."
The next six to 12 months will be crucial for any tech start-up and in markets that are increasingly competitive it could prove fatal for some.
Seesmic also owns the Twitter and Friendfeed client Twhirl.