Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm not sure I see it. Yes, it will hurt a few thousands currently working in overvalued growth startups, but profitable companies will continue to chug along just fine as they have hoards of cash and very low debt. Basically a return to a state where a "Unicorn startup" is actually somewhat rare.
My view is based on the amount of notional money that exists due to the high valuations. Once that disappears, it's going to trigger a much bigger collapse, same as the mortgages did. It's not about the employees that are directly involved (though they will be hurt too), it's the relationship with the whole financial system.
Mortgages were a large part of the credit bubble prior to 2008, but very far from the only part. It also extended to consumer credit, leveraged loans, bank and insurer funding, more or less every credit market. And mortgages are and were a much larger part of the economy too than VC is now. This isn't to say VC hasn't experienced a bubble over the past few years or that there won't be a broader downturn, just that I'm pretty sure VC won't be something which causes contagion like that.