A short YouTube commentary (Capitalism.com, Nov 29, 2022) arguing that the era of cheap capital is ending: widespread easy fundraising (e.g., “$5 million at a $50 million valuation”) has dried up, investor skepticism has risen due to scandals like FTX, and businesses now must focus on profitability, getting lean, being creative, and building communities to generate profit and long-term value.
Over the last several years, profit didn't matter because money was cheap to borrow and investment capital was being flown around all over the place. That has dried up. It used to sound cool that you raised $5 million at a $50 million valuation, but now that you're not profitable, you're not going to do that anymore. And with scandals like FTX in the media, investors are more skeptical of any business that isn't producing profit. So this is the time to get lean, to get creative and, and to build communities, because those are the things that are gonna create profit and long term value.
