If I had to hazard, the profit being referring to is the type where the company has profit potential on razor thin margins and requires massive cash infusions t

If I had to hazard, the profit being referring to is the type where the company has profit potential on razor thin margins and requires massive cash infusions to grow it to numbers where the margins are substantial and support an exit. As long as those "curves" work for those who have money, their money will flow. I've hypothesized that technology bubbles are created by injecting large amounts of stored work (causality) into a system. Stock market, dotcom bubble, Bitcoin, fuses in your breaker box, etc. In some cases, this stored work allows for the creation of trust channels. These trust channels are not always trustworthy. Consider poker games. I no longer trust VCs because I think their "game" is driven by a very small set of limited partner's desire to make even more money than they already have or need. That they are willing to stuff a whole generation into a dorm on the "ifs and buts" of an exit is ridiculous. This "gotta have more" strategy isn't holistic and isn't scalable. When it pops, it's going to be messy. Bootstrap it. Move home, if you must. Move to to a cheap Asian country and build your dream. Whatever you do, do it with your eyes open and your mind free of dissonance. And remember, profit puts you in charge, not them.