20VC: Why Seed is Systemically Broken | Why Pricing is Worse Than Ever and There is More Funding Than Ever | Benchmarks for Churn, Retention and Growth Rates - Good vs Great | Why Last Vintage for Private Equity Will Suck with Jason Lemkin

Market Trends

The current venture capital landscape is fraught with challenges, particularly in valuations. Jason Lemkin expresses concerns over inflated valuations, citing Klaviyo as a prime example. He argues that if Klaviyo were valued at $20 billion, then current deals would make sense, but the reality is starkly different 1. Lemkin also highlights the difficulty of achieving growth in today's market, even for successful companies like HubSpot, which struggles despite a 23% growth rate 2.

   

PE Challenges

Private equity faces its own set of hurdles, particularly with so-called "zombie" public companies. Jason Lemkin discusses companies like Dropbox and Twilio, which have low growth and unexciting roadmaps, yet still manage to maintain significant operating margins 3. He questions the valuation discrepancies between companies like Klaviyo and Atlassian, noting the mystery behind their differing multiples 4.