Why Your Startup Isn’t Worth What You Think It Is

An article we liked from Thought Leader Doron York of City Side Ventures:

The Great Startup Valuation Delusion

Let's talk about startup valuations.

Since the beginning of 2025 I have personally watched over 500 pitches, I have seen it all. You know, those magical startups valuation numbers floating around LinkedIn, especially those fancy charts from Carta showing what early-stage companies are "worth" based on their funding rounds.

After years of biting my tongue, I've got to say it: This whole thing is crazy, insane, preposterous, absurd, oxymoronic and any other harsh word I could find. As a VC, I'm watching my industry fellows collectively losing their minds. I'd use stronger words, but my thesaurus just burst into flames.

Someone must say it out loud! now!

Some hard truths:

90% of startups fail. That's not pessimism – that's math.
Today's market: M&A is crawling, IPOs are unicorn-rare, and late-stage VCs are sitting tight.
Yet pre-revenue startups still expect $10M valuations. Why? Because "everyone else is getting it."

One founder (I know personally) that shut down his startup after raising $85M put it perfectly: "I didn't realize I was being set up to fail until it was too late. That $80M valuation wasn't a compliment - it was a hurdle I could never overcome." High early stage valuation is...