Maybe Winning Is Quitting in Tech Right Now

Meta Platforms META 0.63%

‘ Mark Zuckerberg, Shopify SHOP -0.85%

‘s Tobi Lütke, Twilio’s Jeff Lawson and Twitter’s Jack Dorsey have all said some version of “sorry” for layoffs this year at the companies they founded. Few saying mistakes were made are admitting to being fundamentally mistaken, though. In what he described as a sad moment, to employees, Mr. Zuckerberg cut more than 11,000 jobs earlier this month under what turned out to be a false assumption that the increase in online activity during the pandemic would continue. Meanwhile, he hasn’t paused plans to spend billions of dollars towards his vision of building the metaverse, cutting ancillary projects to further his focus.

Other than his apology for recent layoffs at Twitter, Mr. Dorsey hasn’t said much about Elon Musk’s early missteps since purchasing the social-media platform. mr. Dorsey touted the buyout as a “singular solution” Twitter’s woes. His decision to step down last year was purportedly so that Twitter could break away from what he termed its founder-led limitations towards becoming bigger and better.

Meanwhile Mr. Musk, whom many fear will burn the town hall Mr. Dorsey founded to the ground, doesn’t seem to have the word “sorry” in his vocabulary: Following concern that his planned changes at Twitter are sparking mass employee exodus, Mr. Musk explained in a tweet: “the best people are staying, so I’m not super worried.”

Some founders, such as Lyft LYFT -0.63%

‘s John Zimmer, who cut 13% of staff just a few weeks ago in the company’s second round of layoffs this year, is blaming the economy. He continued to tout his company’s single lane transportation-as-a-service business, brushing off its swerves as “a few twists and turns.”

The world of investing, and especially the part focused on tech stocks, has a long record of accepting praise in bull markets but blaming external factors when bets turn sour. ARK Invest founder Cathie Wood’s Innovation and Next Generation exchange-traded funds are both down by two-thirds over the past year. She blames monetary policy, warning that the Federal Reserve’s continued hawkish stance creates risk of another deflationary bust akin to The Great Depression.

Other leaders, to their credit, aren’t just talking—they are changing. In what had to be a difficult announcement after years of evangelizing iBuying’s eventual potential, Zillow Z -0.27%

‘s Rich Barton said his company would quit the business of automated home flipping last year. Now, as interest rates rise and the real-estate market slips, Mr. Barton has managed to flip Zillow’s losing streak: Its shares are up more than 19% over the past month.

Peloton’s new chief, Barry McCarthy, hasn’t yet fixed founder John Foley’s folly, but he is at least trying. Coming out of retirement for the gig, he has commoditized Peloton’s once status symbol bikes by cutting prices, selling them on Amazon and in chain stores and eyeing freemium models. Peloton’s stock is up 30% in the past month.

Quitters don’t always win, of course. Just Eat Takeaway.com,

TKWY -1.20%

for example, is still looking for a buyer for US-centric Grubhub, an acquisition it closed on only just last year. The lights are still on, though, with management recently raising adjusted earnings guidance for the second half of the year.

“Fortune favors the brave” exclaimed Matt Damon in last year’s Crypto.com commercial—pretty much a cautionary tale for new and shiny investments from the moment the words left his mouth. History is filled with those who “almost adventured…who almost achieved,” he said.

Sometimes it takes even more bravery to turn back.

Write to Laura Forman at [email protected]