Yes, this sucks for employees in the short term who thought their equity was potentially worth 2x what it is (and more importantly, liquid!). But also, if their numbers are good enough to plausibly command that price, it’s probably better for everyone, employees included in the long run, to go public? And not via SPAC, but via a real IPO.

Looking back, I think this ZIRP phenomenon of PE and VC was unhealthy (remember crypto??), unrealistic, and ultimately only benefitted a few founders, some employees, and mostly VC firms making paper gains by marking up SoftBank-esque valuations that no one actually believed.

We’re forgetting that all of FAANG IPOd when they too were much less than $20 billion. Maybe it’s time for the next generation of software companies to take control of their own destiny rather than wait for a golden parachute to buy them out.