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Comment by lsc | Hacker News Reader

I would think that the end of easy money would have a huge effect on the prices of things that startups buy.

In other words, if @bgurley is right and the economics of money-losing companies have changed significantly, then historical burn rate numbers (from 'easy money' times) are not going to be particularly useful to you.

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Cutting burn rate is notoriously hard to do. Startups are built on dreams, and every single one of them has a longer list of things it wants to do than the capability to do them. Accepting that the status quo has changed means founders have to cut expectations of themselves and what they hoped to achieve in 6/12/18 months. Instead of cutting burn, many will start the hamster wheel of trying to raise money, even at unfavorable terms, and realize the reality only too late.

Short answer: burn rates will continue to be high until too late into the down cycle. So current levels matter, a lot.

I kinda assume that if easy money is over (and I don't know that it is. That would be my guess, but it's just a guess) - if easy money is over, then the startups that depend on easy money are probably mostly doomed, but that seems obvious and uninteresting.

I was talking about the next generation of startups... if this generation is, in fact, doomed, there are going to be, for example, more supply and less demand for small office sublets in the trendy parts of town

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