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And you know that for a fact because....source?

toomuchtodo 2y ago
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-02-14/silicon-valley-unicorn-startups-are-desperate-for-cash https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-02-14/silicon-v... | https://archive.today/2ilKP https://archive.today/2ilKP > Deep-pocketed investment companies, including private equity firms, may buy some of these slow-growing startups. But businesses are simply “not going to fetch the type of valuations investors were giving them back in 2021,” says Chelsea Stoner, general partner at Battery Ventures, which invests in and acquires startups. > The remaining optimists can hope that something will spark a new round of techno-enthusiasm, or that a Lina Khan-less Trump administration will goose the acquisition and IPO markets. But Greg Martin, founder and managing director at Archer Venture Capital, says that for many unicorns the only—albeit unlikely—hope is for the market to go crazy again. “Unless we have another irrational valuation environment created by zero interest rates” like we had in the pandemic, he says, many of these zombie unicorns are “going to wind up in the graveyard.” https://www.marketsentiment.co/p/the-yc-report https://www.marketsentiment.co/p/the-yc-report > The stark contrast between Y Combinator's private market triumphs and the public market struggles reveals an interesting paradox in the modern tech ecosystem. Private markets can sustain higher valuations based on just potential alone — Investors are willing to bet on visionary ideas and projected growth. But unless you are Tesla, public markets eventually demand tangible results, often leading to painful drawdowns. > This report is by no means meant to throw shade at YC. They have created some incredible companies like Stripe (Fun fact — Stripe now processes more than 1% of the Global GDP!), Airbnb, and Dropbox. > Unfortunately, by the time most of these companies reach the IPO stage, the hype surrounding them pushes them to unsustainable valuations. While this gives a great payout for the initial investors and founders of the company, retail investors frequently find themselves at the short end of the stick when market expectations adjust. (accredited investor, own private equity in multiple orgs, participate in tender offers, etc; thoughts, opinions, musings my own)

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-02-14/silicon-valley-unicorn-startups-are-desperate-for-cash https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-02-14/silicon-v... | https://archive.today/2ilKP https://archive.today/2ilKP > Deep-pocketed investment companies, including private equity firms, may buy some of these slow-growing startups. But businesses are simply “not going to fetch the type of valuations investors were giving them back in 2021,” says Chelsea Stoner, general partner at Battery Ventures, which invests in and acquires startups. > The remaining optimists can hope that something will spark a new round of techno-enthusiasm, or that a Lina Khan-less Trump administration will goose the acquisition and IPO markets. But Greg Martin, founder and managing director at Archer Venture Capital, says that for many unicorns the only—albeit unlikely—hope is for the market to go crazy again. “Unless we have another irrational valuation environment created by zero interest rates” like we had in the pandemic, he says, many of these zombie unicorns are “going to wind up in the graveyard.” https://www.marketsentiment.co/p/the-yc-report https://www.marketsentiment.co/p/the-yc-report > The stark contrast between Y Combinator's private market triumphs and the public market struggles reveals an interesting paradox in the modern tech ecosystem. Private markets can sustain higher valuations based on just potential alone — Investors are willing to bet on visionary ideas and projected growth. But unless you are Tesla, public markets eventually demand tangible results, often leading to painful drawdowns. > This report is by no means meant to throw shade at YC. They have created some incredible companies like Stripe (Fun fact — Stripe now processes more than 1% of the Global GDP!), Airbnb, and Dropbox. > Unfortunately, by the time most of these companies reach the IPO stage, the hype surrounding them pushes them to unsustainable valuations. While this gives a great payout for the initial investors and founders of the company, retail investors frequently find themselves at the short end of the stick when market expectations adjust. (accredited investor, own private equity in multiple orgs, participate in tender offers, etc; thoughts, opinions, musings my own)