Monica Lewis

One of the most common frustrations I hear from founders is: “Our headcount plan looked solid at the beginning of the year. Why are we still missing?” In most cases, the plan didn’t fail because of talent. It failed because it assumed ideal behavior. Approved headcount gets treated as productive capacity, but a start date doesn’t equal productivity. Between time-to-hire and ramp, it can take six to nine months before a role is truly operating at full impact. Additionally, if someone leaves, the financial model often captures the salary savings but not the vacancy gap, the hiring drag, or the reset in productivity. On paper, the org chart says, “fully staffed”. In reality, the team is still rebuilding. Headcount planning isn’t just about counting seats. It’s about having the correct job architecture to model how people actually behave. When you plan for the ideal state, you’re almost guaranteed to miss. When you plan for real behavior, your forecasts become far more durable. Join Karina Bensko, SPHR and I for The Scale Gap: A 3-Part Workshop Series on How Hiring, Headcount & Retention Impact Cash & Runway • Three live one hour workshops • Two 30-min 1:1 sessions • Workshop Toolkit (Calculators, Worksheets, and Models) Secure your spot: https://luma.com/nktfgt2i

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For the last decade, tech companies optimized for scale: repeatable hiring plans, functional specialization, predictable org charts. I think the next decade will be defined by something harder to achieve: leverage.  The defining trait of AI-first companies won’t necessarily be how much AI they deploy. It will be how willing they are to revisit long-held assumptions about what work exists, who should do it, and how organizations should be structured in the first place. Very excited to finally share the thought piece we at ICONIQ have been working on. Thank you to the many contributors Anu Bharadwaj Dennis Lyandres Diane K. Adams Kipp Bodnar Matt Eccleston Michael Curtis Michelle Morris Jesse Collins Patrick Forquer Rob Bernshteyn who shared their perspectives. This space is evolving faster than any single perspective can capture. If you’re experimenting with new workforce models, seeing something different in your organization, or simply disagree with parts of this thesis, I’d love to hear from you! https://lnkd.in/g66NxYVK

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TL;DR: https://lnkd.in/ghgBFrWq I was just reading this fascinating report from SignalFire about engineering talent retention - it reveals some surprising insights that might shift how we think about keeping top tech talent. Did you know that compensation isn't the top driver of engineer departures? According to this research, the absence of career growth opportunities is actually the primary reason engineers leave (41%), with compensation coming in second (33%). What really caught my attention was how engineers define "career growth" - it's not just about promotions or titles. It's about having the chance to work on challenging problems, learn new skills, and receive recognition for contributions. The report highlights that 67% of software engineers would accept a pay cut for better work-life balance or a more supportive culture. This challenges conventional wisdom about retention strategies focused primarily on compensation packages. Another interesting finding: remote work flexibility is now table stakes, with 76% of engineers saying they'd leave for greater work location freedom. I'm curious about your experiences. Have you found these patterns true in your organization? Are technical growth opportunities and learning pathways prioritized in your retention strategies? What retention approaches have you seen work exceptionally well for engineering talent in today's competitive landscape? Share your insights below - I'd love to learn from your perspective and continue this important conversation. #TalentRetention #EngineeringCulture #Leadership

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🧩 Role Mismatch | 04 Fast decision-makers thrive in high-tempo environments. Policy isn’t one of them. It slows the pace, increases ambiguity, and adds layers of review. At Cogmap, we measure decision tempo, ambiguity tolerance, and risk framing to align people with roles that match how they process decisions. Where in your organisation could decision speed be mismatched with decision structure? #MeasureGreatness #ElitePerformance #Neuroscience #BrainVsRole

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Trying something new this week - a studio industry roundup with my take on what matters. The studio model is no longer an experiment being run in a handful of places. It is infrastructure being built across geographies, sectors, and institutional types. 5️⃣ stories from the past seven days:  1️⃣ OSS Ventures hit a EUR 40M first close on a EUR 75M follow-on fund -- capital raised specifically to back the 30 companies their studio created since 2019. The "build then fund" lifecycle is maturing. B'More Venture Studio with a similar thesis: studio operations first, then dedicated capital to scale what's working.  2️⃣ Delta40 raised $20M from 54 investors across 13 countries to launch Africa's first integrated venture studio and fund. The LP base is almost entirely DFIs and foundations. Impact capital is discovering the studio model as a deployment vehicle, something I seeing across geographies (conversations with Michael Bob Starr and Damias McDonald this week alone) 3️⃣ Start Holdings launched Start.vc out of NYC and Barcelona after a $200M EV infrastructure exit. Another operator-turned-studio-founder. This is the pattern we see quite often in our work at 9point8 -- experienced operators like Jason Goldsmith who've built and exited deciding the studio model is how they want to build next.  4️⃣ UBC HATCH admitted 10 new deep-tech spinouts for Winter 2026 -- mostly climate tech. University venture builders are quietly becoming one of the fastest-growing segments. Follow Evan Allen and Jaimie Testai to keep track of its rapid evolution.  5️⃣ The INVEST Act is advancing through the Senate. If passed, it expands qualifying VC fund size from $10M to $50M and loosens general solicitation rules for accelerator and university events. For studio-funds -- and for folks in the The Venture Studio Forum community tracking policy -- this could be the most significant capital formation legislation since the JOBS Act. If this roundup format is useful, I'll keep it going. What other noteworthy news hit your desk this week, and what stood out to you?

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Always learning. Always building. My biggest takeaways from recent conversations with Eric and Hoala — two founders with deep experience building tech companies in SF — as I soak up their wisdom: 💡 1. The density of ideas here is unmatched. In San Francisco, the unplanned collisions — in lobbies, coffee shops, parks — with like-minded builders and AI talent happen constantly. And the quality of those conversations? Genuinely insightful. 💡 2. Academia is running ahead of what we see online. The AI research coming out of local universities is years ahead of what most of us read in blog posts or see on LinkedIn. There’s a gap between what’s being published and what’s being commercialized. 💡 3. Building outside the Valley is possible — but it’s hard mode. You can absolutely run an AI company elsewhere. But without the network density, social climate, and constant access to high-caliber technical minds, you’re playing the game on a higher difficulty setting. ⸻ Coming here has flipped a few assumptions for me: 🚫 Myth: SF is full of “AI experts” talking out of their ass. ✅ Reality: Because there’s so much true talent, most people don’t call themselves experts — they know someone nearby probably knows more. There’s humility in that. 🚫 Myth: Everyone here is out for themselves. ✅ Reality: Couldn’t be more wrong. In the past week alone, multiple people have gone out of their way to offer advice, intros, and perspective. The generosity of time and thought is real — and it’s its own currency here. Invest in relationships. Be useful. Good karma compounds

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Odin Dynamics, Inc write-up by Matthew Bernard. The story of how Amir and Jon came together to build something of National importance. It's worth the read. https://lnkd.in/eXq8zySA Tareyton Venture Partners

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My favorite moment from this conversation was Julia Arpag's story about her husband pivoting from nonprofit to tech with zero industry experience on paper. The kind of resume that gets filtered out before a human ever sees it. He worked with a career coach, repositioned his experience, and landed not one but two dream jobs. The resume almost kept him out. The skills got him in. That's the whole point of this podcast in one story.

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"We've become so insular in who we talk to and listen to, and I didn't realize how much that was keeping me in tunnel vision and tunnel thinking." Seth Levine, Co-Author of Capital Evolution and Partner at Foundry, talks about seeking out more diversity of thought on Tech Scenes Unplugged. #venturebacked #vcbacked #venturecapital #leadership #ceo #founder #operatingsystem #peakOS #foundermode

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