Back in the dotcom days the IPO was the finish line, but recently the fashion seems to be raising greater and greater sums in private investment rounds, particularly for &quot;businesses&quot; that build up an audience first and figure out monetization later.<p>So instead of the many stock market investors (individuals, pension funds, hedge funds, banks, etc) getting burned, it is the much smaller pool of angels and VCs who would pass the credit&#x2F;equity crunch to startups. The loss of wealth wouldn&#x27;t be as widespread as before, but it would throw a wrench into one of the few genuinely competitive industries in the U.S. today.<p>There is reason to be concerned, but I think the author&#x27;s fears are somewhat overblown.