Honestly, in my experience (I'm not a VC but an observer - I often get passed pitch decks to either angel-invest or co-invest through my firm), most VC-backed s

Honestly, in my experience (I'm not a VC but an observer - I often get passed pitch decks to either angel-invest or co-invest through my firm), most VC-backed startups are zombie companies. They may show outward progress, like hiring a lot of employees or holding/participating in conferences or showing so many new product "improvements" (that somehow seem to always be following the latest fad), but in the end, what matters is revenue, which they don't have. On the dark side, one will find dwindling revenue, enterprise contracts getting dissolved, a high attrition rate and a piss-poor management of finances. They'll have runway for years to come though, because of their cash piles, but nothing to justify the valuations they got from the flush era.