One day, I’m hearing personal accounts of VCs pulling term sheets at the last minute, with some citing that their own investors had backed out of providing funds, leaving founders scrambling to save a round — and face. Then the next, I have a founder telling me their latest round was preempted by a large venture firm in their industry.
One day, I’m having a fintech-focused VC tell me they haven’t invested in any startups since last October. The next, I’m having PayPal Venture alums share news of the closure of a new $158 million fund, ready to back about two dozen early-stage startups through their new firm, Infinity Ventures.
One day, Y Combinator is advising its portfolio founders to “plan for the worst” as startups across the globe scramble to navigate a sharp reversal after a 13-year bull run. The next, Lightspeed Venture Partners is urging founders to “stay optimistic.”
The myriad conflicting signals are enough to make anyone’s head spin, but as journalists, we have to take it all in stride. I’ve come to realize, in reporting on startups and venture capital pretty much exclusively for the past 5 years — and for many more before that in one capacity or another — that nothing is black and white, things aren’t always what they seem and they can change in the blink of an eye. For example, that fund I referred to? It actually closed last October.
During the late ’90s dot.com boom, I remember marveling at the ridiculous amounts of cash being thrown around to startups for sometimes ridiculous ideas. Not gonna lie, there was a similar vibe in 2021, where companies with no revenue, no customers and in some cases, no revenue model even, were landing millions of dollars in funding. It caused me serious anxiety to even open my inbox because the sheer number of pitches was so overwhelming and there were so many startups doing so many similar things, that it got harder and harder to tell them apart. One day, I’m hearing personal accounts of VCs pulling term sheets at the last minute, with some citing that their own investors had backed out of providing funds, leaving founders scrambling to save a round — and face. Then the next, I have a founder telling me their latest round was preempted by a large venture firm in their industry.
One day, I’m having a fintech-focused VC tell me they haven’t invested in any startups since last October. The next, I’m having PayPal Venture alums share news of the closure of a new $158 million fund, ready to back about two dozen early-stage startups through their new firm, Infinity Ventures.
One day, Y Combinator is advising its portfolio founders to “plan for the worst” as startups across the globe scramble to navigate a sharp reversal after a 13-year bull run. The next, Lightspeed Venture Partners is urging founders to “stay optimistic.”
The myriad conflicting signals are enough to make anyone’s head spin, but as journalists, we have to take it all in stride. I’ve come to realize, in reporting on startups and venture capital pretty much exclusively for the past 5 years — and for many more before that in one capacity or another — that nothing is black and white, things aren’t always what they seem and they can change in the blink of an eye. For example, that fund I referred to? It actually closed last October.
During the late ’90s dot.com boom, I remember marveling at the ridiculous amounts of cash being thrown around to startups for sometimes ridiculous ideas. Not gonna lie, there was a similar vibe in 2021, where companies with no revenue, no customers and in some cases, no revenue model even, were landing millions of dollars in funding. It caused me serious anxiety to even open my inbox because the sheer number of pitches was so overwhelming and there were so many startups doing so many similar things, that it got harder and harder to tell them apart. One day, I’m hearing personal accounts of VCs pulling term sheets at the last minute, with some citing that their own investors had backed out of providing funds, leaving founders scrambling to save a round — and face. Then the next, I have a founder telling me their latest round was preempted by a large venture firm in their industry.
One day, I’m having a fintech-focused VC tell me they haven’t invested in any startups since last October. The next, I’m having PayPal Venture alums share news of the closure of a new $158 million fund, ready to back about two dozen early-stage startups through their new firm, Infinity Ventures.
One day, Y Combinator is advising its portfolio founders to “plan for the worst” as startups across the globe scramble to navigate a sharp reversal after a 13-year bull run. The next, Lightspeed Venture Partners is urging founders to “stay optimistic.”
The myriad conflicting signals are enough to make anyone’s head spin, but as journalists, we have to take it all in stride. I’ve come to realize, in reporting on startups and venture capital pretty much exclusively for the past 5 years — and for many more before that in one capacity or another — that nothing is black and white, things aren’t always what they seem and they can change in the blink of an eye. For example, that fund I referred to? It actually closed last October.
During the late ’90s dot.com boom, I remember marveling at the ridiculous amounts of cash being thrown around to startups for sometimes ridiculous ideas. Not gonna lie, there was a similar vibe in 2021, where companies with no revenue, no customers and in some cases, no revenue model even, were landing millions of dollars in funding. It caused me serious anxiety to even open my inbox because the sheer number of pitches was so overwhelming and there were so many startups doing so many similar things, that it got harder and harder to tell them apart. Here we are today. I have a (slightly) quieter inbox, VCs appear to be applying more (or in some cases, some when there was little to none) due diligence and valuations are either flat or only inching upward rather than soaring — even dropping in some cases. Layoffs abound, just months after headlines of a tech worker shortage in the midst of hiring frenzies. Meanwhile, startups are being held to higher standards when it comes to revenue, customers and profitability. There’s a panic in the air that wasn’t there before as everyone wonders what’s next for founders, investors and startups as a whole.
Is this a market correction or just a shift to the way things should be? Maybe a little of both. Either way, I do think fintech continues to be somewhat of an outlier, at least for now.
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