> Can anyone really say if there is any proof to this rhetoric. Are these companies really in such bad shape? One thing is for sure, you can't look at companie

> Can anyone really say if there is any proof to this rhetoric. Are these companies really in such bad shape? One thing is for sure, you can't look at companies/startups or VC in a vacuum. You'd be wise to look at financial markets as a whole and all the interdependent factors that __might__ be leading to a situation similar to 2008/9 or worse; another housing bubble, weakness in energy markets, banks exposure to housing and energy, weakness in emerging markets (China, Brazil), tightening monetary policy, sovereign debt crises, geopolitical risk, etc. If investor and consumer confidence really start to slide, yes, valuations will take a hit. That's not to say that some unicorns and other companies can't still be wildly successful.