* The first versions of the CV are so, so bad. Almost parody-level fluff (the rainbow infinity sign is peak CV cringe) hiding what should be considered some pretty impressive outcome metrics. It would be significantly better if the entire CV was "CEO who scaled startup from $XM Valuation to $250M Valuation" in 72 point font.
* Applying through the front door doesn't work. Only networking is going to get you a job at this level of seniority (and lately almost any level of seniority). Tuning your CV is only helpful for organizing your thoughts for your elevator pitch.
* Being without a job near the top of the pyramid is very bad, and you need a much better story to explain the gap. No one is handing you the keys to their company if you seem like a risk. "I'm a Ukrainian refugee" is a great story and should probably be in there to explain the lack of current employment. Your journey of self discovery is a great story to tell after you land your next role, not while you're looking.
* Probably most importantly, we've been living in a 15-year tech bubble driven by low interest rates and quantitative easing. Valuations have been driven by the insane amount of money flying around, and those valuations have required zero-marginal-cost and infinite TAM to justify the numbers. SaaS, tech, AI/ML are pretty much the only stories that can claim to meet the "zero cost, infinite TAM" investment thesis. Zero interest rate meant you got a super long runway to keep the fantasy going. We have a glut of people who can launch and scale tech companies and there aren't as many opportunities for that as there were three years ago.