[fauigerzigerk]

I don't disagree with you on the negative effects of a down round. But I'm unconvinced that it's worse than having to raise seed funding in a down market.

If you previously raised cheap equity capital (i.e at a high valuation) you have presumably used that money to create something of value (a product). Never having had that opportunity is strictly worse.

[FreakLegion]

Sure, it's not a universal law. We can imagine all kinds of scenarios where raising gobs of seed money at absurd valuations is the better choice.

We aren't discussing hypotheticals, though. We're talking about the actual seed landscape today, which to be clear is fantastic for founders, and the actual predicaments of a bunch of companies that raised in the last two-odd years at nonsensical valuations and are now forced to accept whatever investors offer (which in many cases will be nothing -- a down round is actually a luxury).

[HWR_14]

Your not making sense. Normally a down round has negative consequences because of what it indicates. Here it indicates something different: they got a great deal in 2021.