SignalFire CEO Chris Farmer on why venture funds now last 20 years and the hiring boom behind the layoffs

SignalFire CEO Chris Farmer on why venture funds now last 20 years and the hiring boom behind the layoffs

From Summation with Auren Hoffman by Auren Hoffman

June 9, 2026 · 46 min

About this episode

Chris Farmer discusses the evolving landscape of venture funds and the hidden hiring boom amidst layoffs.

Chris Farmer is the founder and CEO of SignalFire, an early stage venture firm managing over $3 billion. In this episode of Summation, Chris and Auren discuss: why the time to return 1x has stretched to 9+ years and funds are lasting 20 yearsthe engineering hiring boom hiding behind the layoff headlinesthe five functions of a VC firm and the one place data helps the leastwhy almost all conventional career advice is now badYou can find Auren Hoffman on X at @auren and Chris Farmer on X a...

People in this episode

Host: Auren Hoffman

Guest: Chris Farmer

Topics covered

  • venture capital
  • hiring trends
  • career advice
  • data in VC
  • investment funds

Keywords

  • venture funds
  • hiring boom
  • layoffs
  • career advice
  • VC firm functions

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: SignalFire

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