Next up (and the harder problem imo) is for companies to feel like they have enough leverage vs investors (mainly institutional VC) that they can be "nonstandar

Next up (and the harder problem imo) is for companies to feel like they have enough leverage vs investors (mainly institutional VC) that they can be "nonstandard" in their option contracts (particularly during seed and A rounds). It's no coincidence that the companies that have taken the lead on this front are the startup darlings and/or repeat founders who have considerable leverage against funders (including YC companies, since their cred boost makes being nonstandard much easier than those without the brand). We've made huge progress in that direction over the last 5 years as ZIRP made money cheap (and since the main leverage investors have against companies is the scarcity of funding, their leverage has decreased dramatically since the 80's). But as the funding mania crescendo of 2015 has passed, ZIRP is being wound down, and as private and public market valuations of small young tech companies plummet, I am not sure if that trend will continue into the future. If there is one cohort that can band together to change the status quo, right now, that would be the YC companies. I am hopeful that enough momentum can be built over the next small handful of years by these companies so that "what is normal" can change permanently.