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> It’s hard to sustain a bubble for four years.

Says who? As Wilson observes, "Since the financial crisis of 2008, policy makers in the developed world have kept interest rates at or near zero. They have flooded the market with cheap money in an attempt to heal the wounds (losses) of the financial crisis and incent business owners to invest and grow their businesses." It's kind of amazing that he doesn't see how years of unprecedented coordinated central bank action could drive and sustain bubbles.

> It’s been a good time to be in the VC and startup business and I think it will continue to be as long as the global economy is weak and rates are low.

As an investor, there is no doubt that DFTF and BTFD has been very profitable, but the implication that a weak global economy and low interest rates is essentially responsible for sustaining the good times should be disturbing to anyone with exposure to the venture capital asset class given what it is supposed to represent.

Incidentally, I think it's somewhat amusing that VCs are asked the "Are we in a bubble question?" in the first place. When you ask market participants who can only play the market in one direction using a single asset class, you tend to get the least insightful answers in my opinion.



Interestingly, he didn't answer the question with a no. He described a situation that, to some readers, may be a yes. "It's hard to sustain a bubble for four years, but here we are," in essence. He explains that the demand for stock in certain companies is artificially high, driving up valuations by a multiple.


"Markets can remain irrational longer than you can remain solvent."


Absolutely. The thing with market trends is, no one can predict them. It's a guessing game, that no one can predict. Sometimes the bubble last very long, sometimes not.


Great post; I agree with everything here.




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