This title is wrong. It should read, “Startups learn the easy way how to manage cash…”. Because there are truly no long-lasting repercussions for the mismanagement of their cash balances.

Perhaps a better story would be, “Fiscally Responsible Startups learn the hard way that their work didn’t matter.” Because the market taught them that spending time considering their cash management was a waste of time. They should have just done what their peers did — act surprised and beg for immediate access to funds that are literally defined as ‘uninsured deposits.’

Just like catching a kid that’s about to fall off a fence, I sympathize with emotional toll that founders had to deal with during that long weekend. But it wasn’t the ‘hard way.’