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OpenAI CEO Sam Altman sent startup six-figure loan after SVB collapse

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Re: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman sent startup six-figure loan after SVB collapse

#3
post #2

Startups that are worth saving will be saved. Cashflow won't be what kills some of these startups.

I don't really know much about venture capital but this sounds like a gross oversimplification.

More like, the startups that are saved will be a mixed bag of worthwhile startups and dead-end startups. Meanwhile some worthwhile ones will sadly be left behind with the dead-end ones.

Re: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman sent startup six-figure loan after SVB collapse

#5
post #3
post #2

Startups that are worth saving will be saved. Cashflow won't be what kills some of these startups.

I don't really know much about venture capital but this sounds like a gross oversimplification. More like, the startups that are saved will be a mixed bag of worthwhile startups and dead-end startups. Meanwhile some worthwhile ones will sadly be left behind with the dead-end ones.

Depends on your perspective. One of the articles of faith in this industry is that good startups get investment and succeed, while bad ones fail. To whatever extent that's true, it won't be particularly worse here. Startups who made treasury management errors and are experiencing cash crunches can make very good cases for bridge loans and extra investment from their existing investors. If their investors are like, "nah, pass" then that's a pretty good reason to question their potential generally.

Re: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman sent startup six-figure loan after SVB collapse

#6
post #2

Startups that are worth saving will be saved. Cashflow won't be what kills some of these startups.

By design, venture-backed startups are about sticking a plate of spaghetti to a wall to look for the sticky bits. There are few sure tells of what startups are “worth saving” until they’re already quite successful.

Assuming that the SVB unwinding is more than a hiccup in cash availability, what will determine who gets saved will mostly come down to affinity and luck. Promise and value are a sort of first pass filter, but startups are just plain noisy and chaotic field.

Re: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman sent startup six-figure loan after SVB collapse

#9
post #3
post #2

Startups that are worth saving will be saved. Cashflow won't be what kills some of these startups.

I don't really know much about venture capital but this sounds like a gross oversimplification. More like, the startups that are saved will be a mixed bag of worthwhile startups and dead-end startups. Meanwhile some worthwhile ones will sadly be left behind with the dead-end ones.

Ofcourse it is an oversimplification but it really is that simple.

If the business is profitable, it will survive.

If its still relying on free money to pay the bills, its time to make it profitable.

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