A guest column with insight into issues currently affecting the BC technology industry. Guest Columnist By Don Safnuk Corporate Recruiters, Ltd. Glass Half Full My team at Corporate Recruiters and I personally have been through many economic cycles. The one we are in is unique because of the extraordinary access to media and the attention the media is giving it (some responsible and some not). From the news on the stock market to the news on war and terrorism, it is no wonder that consumer and business confidence is less than optimistic. What is less newsworthy is that many tech companies are doing fine at the moment. Corporate Recruiters has been a part of our tech community long enough to read the economic barometers of the small and mid cap tech companies in BC, and one of these barometers is our own recruiting figures. The numbers for 2008 Q3 and Q4 are turning out to be as active over the same period as all but the top 3 of our 28 year history. This is a good sign. Since 1972, I have been both a CEO and board director of technology companies; I have co-founded a firm focussed on funding technology companies, and I have also been a technology recruiter. It all makes me an active student of the BC tech sector and, while this doesn’t enable me to predict the future, it has given me a chance to observe what history has taught us about previous down cycles. For a surprising number of companies, economic downturns are non-events. Economic cycles and financial dramas will not last forever, so while survival is #1, you must not take yourself out of the game. Some companies are going to profit greatly during the downturn and some well-positioned companies even more so during the early recovery stage. Small tech companies often struggle over hiring the right sales reps. Misaligned product experience and skill sets are never ideal scenarios, but they are particularly problematic during tough economic cycles. If you aren’t cash flow positive, find a way to make your money last 6+ months longer. If you have access to capital, it is a great time to build an early stage company. Talent, office space, and third-party services are all more plentiful and costs tend to be lower. Emerging companies are probably 5 to 8 years from an exit, so don’t waste a lot of energy worrying about the liquidity strategy. If you have 12 – 18 months cash, don’t expect your shareholders to abandon ROI expectations. Watch the big companies. They tend to cut costs earlier and aggressively jump back in sooner.  Sometimes little companies take too long to get costs down, and then wait too long to be assertive when the market is recovering. I think that being the CEO of a small technology company is one of the hardest and demanding jobs in the industry. Being expected to create or increase corporate value in a negative growth and capital-starved environment makes it that much harder, but it does get done, and it is amazing to watch some leaders thrive on the adversity. In closing, I'd like to quote a senior director who counselled me on his expectations of the CEO we were recruiting for his struggling company during a previous tough economic cycle: "For me, great company leaders will be defined not by how they manage through the good times, but how they manage during the tough times". By Don Safnuk, Corporate Recruiters Ltd.  Don can be contacted at don@corporate.bc.ca