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- š±Ā Adobe buys Figma, Twilio lays off 930, and more.
š± Adobe buys Figma, Twilio lays off 930, and more.
It's been a wild few days š
This is The Level Ups. Modern business news for the future business leader (explained in plain-Jane English).
Happy Friday!
Adobe buys Figma (the price/valuation is the highest Iāve seen).
Twilio lays off 930 people and makes the weirdest announcement.
I made something to help you or anyone you know get a better job.
Letās get into it.
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes & 30 seconds.
Adobe Agrees to Purchase Design Software Figma for $20B.
This image tells the story.

Credit to Morning Brew for the image.
Figma and Adobe are two companies with competing design software products. Adobe was always the dominant player, but then Figma showed up.
The design community eventually fell in love with Figma and made the switch. It's a classic case of buying out your competitor (or selling out, depending on how you look at it).
Before the deal details, thereās some ācontroversy.ā
In the beginning, Figma made an enemy out of Adobe. Theyād preach ānever being like Adobeā and all that.
But now it comes off a like hypocrisy. And it kind of is. They sold themselves to their worst enemy.
Yes, thereās a lot of criticism online. But come on. Itās 20 billion dollars. Whoās saying no to that???
Whatās This Deal Really About?
Here are the details:
Figma did $400M in 2022 revenue. The purchase price was $20B (50x annual revenue).
Adobe removed the biggest threat to their business.
Adobe also gets an amazing, fast-growing company ($200M 2021 revenue).
The amazing team behind Figma also goes to Adobe (if they want to).
Adobe knew it was just a matter of time until Figma crushed them - so they made an offer that was so good that Figma just couldnāt say no.
Was it worth it, though?
Not Everyoneās Happy
That purchase price is extreme in a recession. Adobeās stock price has since taken a hit.
4pm the day before the announcement, the stock price was $371.52.

10am the next day, just after the announcement, the stock price dropped to $318.42.

It dropped more than 16.5%. Feel free to look it up if youāre curious.
When a company youāve invested in unloads $20B during a recession, itās natural to ask questions and lose confidence.
Investors probably donāt even know what Figma is (most people donāt).
It gets worse.
Shareholders were already unhappy before this acquisition. Adobeās stock price was nearly $450/share last month. Itās tanking, and now thereās more bad news.
This is how it sounds.
āHey, remember how itās already been a bad month? Well, we just dumped $20B to buy a competitor (you donāt know them) for 50x their annual revenue.ā
Itās adding fuel to the fire.
The good news for them is that the price should go back up when investors see itās a (potentially) company-saving move. Investor relations 101.
Lessons Learned
Recessions donāt matter when you build a great company with a loving community.
Designers may feel like itās selling out, but I doubt they would turn down $20B if they even had the choice.
Figma got the best deal possible at one of the highest valuations Iāve ever seen.
Adobe avoids getting crushed in 5-10 years (and enjoys some peace of mind).
Iād say both sides made the right call. Congrats to them.
Twilio Lays Off 930 and Makes The Weirdest Announcement
Unfortunately, even Twilio made mass layoffs.
Twilio is a leader in text message marketing software. They also own several other platforms, such as SendGrid, a popular email marketing / sales tool.
This makes for about 11% of their workforce. The team describes it as tough but necessary as they push to become profitable in 2023.
These layoffs might come off like an evil conglomerate laying off poor, unfortunate workers. Itās really not so bad.
Hereās why (in Twilioās case).
Everyone laid off automatically gets 12 weeksā pay (severance).
Plus another week for every year of service (3 years worked is 3 more weeks pay).
They get added to several networks that will help them find a new job.
It sucks to get laid off. 12-18 weeks pay as your severance and support getting a new job is not so bad.
Twilioās Announcement
This one blew my mind.
You know how when someone starts a sentence with āhonestly,ā it makes you wonder why they had to say it? Does that mean theyāre lying if they donāt say it?
Why bring that kind of attention to yourself? It makes you look way more suspicious.
Twilio just did that x1000.
Read this and let me know if Iām crazy:

I'd find that weird if I still worked a day job and the CEO announced something like this during layoffs.
Bad Times Make Good People Do Weird Things
It seems like they're trying to get ahead of bad PR because they really canāt afford it. Twilio stock price has dropped 73% this year already.
Hereās the thing:
Twilio makes over $900M in revenue (thatās just Q2), BUT ITāS NOT PROFITABLE. Thatās why theyāre firing all those people in the first place.
I get how software companies operate at a loss sometimes, but damn. Thereās no telling what people might do when it's that bad.
No wonder theyāre scared of bad PR. Iād be scared to leave my home if I couldnāt make a profit out of $900M.
Tough situation. Fortunately, it looks like the folks who got laid off are getting a lot of support.
Letās Get You A Better Job
Iāve made something to help people land a new job, whether theyāve been laid off or not.
Itās straightforward.
Include details on your desired job / industry (you can even link me to the exact posting).
Upload your resume.
I will put your resume on my screen and record a 5min video walking through all the suggested edits. Itās step by step and easy to follow.
Recruiters, hiring mangers, and business owners often ask me if I know anyone looking for a job. Youāll also be added to my list of candidates.
Just yesterday I introduced someone who filled out the form to a recruiter. Hopefully it works out. Either way, itās worth giving it a try.
Feel free to share this with anyone you know looking for help finding their next position.
Iāll keep doing these in my spare time while I can. Itās free btw.
Thanks for reading!
See you Monday,
Darwin
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