While I certainly don't want to speak for the commentor, my sense is that this is driven by the fear that failure in the valley equals failure in meeting expect

While I certainly don't want to speak for the commentor, my sense is that this is driven by the fear that failure in the valley equals failure in meeting expectations of an exit. By discriminating on the story to the point it becomes "they went home", one could possibly draw the conclusion others don't want to see such a story told because it could place a double bind on their own actions. i.e. If I read this, I'll become aware of the things I should be afraid of while growing my company and if I do that (become afraid), I'll never be able to do the impossible, change the world, and make my exit. Again, I'm speaking for others, but am doing so to theorize about the behaviors of the ecosystems we've built around startup culture.