A huge part of modern startup culture is to put on a happy face in all situations to project an aura of confidence.

Cynics would call it fake it until you make it, but for many businesses if they don’t look secure they will find it harder to get new customers in order to survive.

A lot of companies that raised a lot in 2021-22 didn’t hire much because the labor market was so tight. Also, I think many knew that the availability of capital was unnaturally high and that they shouldn’t plan as if those conditions would continue.