Like you, I am a co-owner of a bootstrapped, profitable, conservatively managed technology company. I am happy to have built what I have. But I can't find a whit of pleasure at the prospect of a disastrous reversal in private technology financing. There are a lot -- a lot -- of bad deals receiving favorable financing from out-of-touch or non-traditional institutionals. That's true. And painful but non-combustive reversals are part of the functioning of markets, sure.

But SV remains the one place in the world where smart investors with genuine science and technology backgrounds are willing to play the long game with entrepreneurs. I spend a lot of time in London and New York. The generally hidebound nature of their investment cultures, which make perfect sense when you're doing an Exotic Pet Vet Tax-Free Rollup, or a Midwest Refrigerated Storage Debt-Chummed Dividend Fête, would never have made a bet on Google, Oracle, Nvidia, PayPal, Oculus, to take a few at random.

So while there are a good dozen $1b liquidation preference-cap companies that are fundamentally silly, wishing for a tidal reversal in private tech funding isn't a good idea. VC qua asset class is important.