Hi, I’m Katie Malone, and this is Innovation Wire by Technical.ly.
Getting laid off sucks, and the number of workers losing their jobs continues to sit among record highs.
But, just maybe, there’s a bright side: More people striking out on their own to build new ventures. With the coinciding advancement of AI tools, we’re seeing a perfect storm of opportunity, frustration and tech progress. It’s leading to a surge of people stepping into the “founder” role — the number of LinkedIn users listing that title has tripled since July 2022, according to the social media company.
Kathleen Borgueta lost her job during DOGE’s sweeping USAID layoffs in January 2025. Faced with institutions shuttering around her industry, and as a new mom, she took a leap of faith in herself instead of searching for a new role at an existing firm.
“My family was planning to rely on my income, our health benefits,” said Borgueta, who after her layoff instead founded a network for people in similar situations called Pivoting Parents. “The kinds of career pivots and job offerings [from] regular, precedented times, weren't going to be an option.”
While Pivoting Parents is still working to find a sustainable business model, it landed Borgueta the Entrepreneur of the Year nod in the 2025 Technical.ly Awards in DC.
Like nearly 30 million small businesses across the US, her company is a one-person show. Borgueta is also one of many that use AI to make that work.
“You name it, I am somehow trying to use AI to wear that hat within my organization,” she told me.
Nearly 4 in 10 professionals surveyed by LinkedIn said AI made them more likely to start their own business. I chatted with Judy Nam, VP of marketing at LinkedIn’s small business division, about the bigger picture.
“We've seen a proliferation of tools and I think it's really lowering the barrier,” Nam said. “AI tools are now letting people tackle some of these business problems that in the past, they might have felt like they needed a person, a big organization, a lot more capital in order to invest in before they can go and get started.”
Examples include writing grant applications, drafting social media posts, designing marketing strategies and taking on administrative tasks.
Still, starting something new requires resources that not everyone has equal access to. Immigrants, who make up a strong contingent of US entrepreneurs, have been forced by the Trump administration to deal with additional complexities.
The barriers are real. Layoffs take a major hit on impacted households. This isn’t a pick-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps lecture.
More people are deciding that waiting on big institutions to give them another chance isn’t the only option. Sometimes one person’s pivot doesn’t fix a broken system, but reminds you: There could be another way forward.
Another angle:
“The adverse effect of the Great Recession on employment was slightly worse for self-employed people than for those who worked for others. From December 2007 to June 2009, the number of self-employed people fell 4.4%, while the number of wage-employed people dropped 4.3%.”
How has AI impacted your job, side hustle or business? Hit reply and let me know.
Technical.ly headlines of the week
3 things to know
🛑 Feds vs. state AI update: The White House’s push against state AI regulation continues. Axios obtained a letter from the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs calling Utah’s AI Transparency Act “unfixable” and urging it be scrapped. [Axios]
🎓 Straight A(I)s: Purdue University in Indiana and the Ohio State University will now require students to demonstrate a working understanding of AI tools in order to graduate. [The 74]
🐟 Dam it!: In Traverse City, Michigan, FishPass is using image recognition tech and an obstacle course-style setup to keep invasive fish out of a local river while letting the native ones swim through. [Great Lakes Now]