Most businesses can get loans, including unviable ones, by either 1. Burning existing equity: Owner uses own house as security to get loan, common story 2. Pol

Most businesses can get loans, including unviable ones, by either 1. Burning existing equity: Owner uses own house as security to get loan, common story 2. Political pressure to get loans: This is how zombie companies are born, and they are very common outside of anglo saxon countries. I would not say startups are subject to more or less business discipline compared to normal companies of the same caliber. Your average tech startup founder has a lot more resources and credentials to burn in emergencies compared to an immigrant starting up a restaurant, so it has to be a like for like comparison.