Tech in the Spotlight: The Outlook for Financing Growth in 2023

Capital markets insights from Bank of the West Head of Technology Banking Andreas Bubenzer-Paim.

February 2, 2023

If you only read the headlines, you might think that every technology company in the world is cutting jobs. But Andreas Bubenzer-Paim , Managing Director and Head of Technology Banking at Bank of the West , knows that layoffs by giants like Alphabet, Microsoft, IBM and other mega-caps are only part of a tech sector landscape which includes thousands of smaller, high-growth tech firms—many still private—that are actively hiring, not firing, workers.

“There is definitely a difference between the headline news and what I’m seeing in our daily lives when we talk to these tech companies and the management teams,” Mr. Bubenzer-Paim said in a recent interview. “And the message that you hear is they’re still hiring; they’re still growing.”

He’s quick to point out that hiring and growth at these companies will be at slower rates as recessionary conditions take hold. But whatever the pace of expansion, it’s critical for growth-tech firms to secure funding to stay on an upward trajectory. And volatility in financial markets that started in 2022 has made that harder.

In the video clip below—taken from a longer, Strategic Finance Lab Podcast to be released soon—Mr. Bubenzer-Paim shares his perspective and informed insights on the financing outlook in various capital markets for growth tech companies this year.