[lumost]

Smart employees understand this dynamic. When leadership hides information - it always means its bad. The first thing I noticed when I had a bout of bad employers was that they claimed "we can't share financial information because of XYZ investor/legal reason."

Those startups all had major financial problems within 6 months to 2 years. Management has strong incentives to hide bad information from employees.

[robocat]

Most startups fail - it's almost definitional.

Trying to connect the dots like you are attempting to, is a foolish game.

[lumost]

ehh there is a common thread that when management becomes convinced either of falsehoods or that lying to employees is the best strategy, the business outcomes won't be the best either.