Well yes, "bombed IPO" is a relative term. If you float a pile of trash onto the stock market and rake in a lot of $$$ then sure cash out and go live on a nice

Well yes, "bombed IPO" is a relative term. If you float a pile of trash onto the stock market and rake in a lot of $$$ then sure cash out and go live on a nice tropical island somewhere while leaving a smoking crater behind full of employees holding worthless options. From the early investors standpoint that's a win. However, that can only happen so many times before the "suckers" that were buying these things at IPO catch on and lose their appetite. That sort of thing is in part what's happening and in part why these write downs are occurring. The paper valuation during funding rounds is only real if the "real market" (i.e. everyone, not just a few VCs writing founders a cheque) is willing to buy shares at that value. If the market continues to get more skeptical, and there's every indication that this will continue to be the case, then down rounds are an almost certainty moving forward for many firms. That's also a big problem for employee options, which typically only have value if the valuation keeps skyrocketing.