The “Pineapple Express” that dropped several inches of rain over the Bay Area last week left the ground saturated. The next storm front expected to arrive tomorrow is expected to bring disruption and destruction on a massive scale.
It’s a decent metaphor for our startup ecosystem: Just as there aren’t enough sandbags in San Francisco to keep everyone’s house dry, rising interest rates, skittish investors and looming economic uncertainty are poised to bring valuations down even further in 2023.
“In a culture where growing valuations are worn like a badge of honor, founders may fear that taking a down round would render them Silicon Valley pariahs,” writes Holden Spaht, managing partner at private equity firm Thoma Bravo.
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