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There is no shortage of reports from places like PricewaterhouseCoopers or CB Insights that indicate a slowdown in VC funding in Silicon Valley.
Here’s another one, from the influential and centrally connected Silicon Valley Bank, that shows just how much confidence has cratered in the short- and medium-term future for many startups. According to SVB’s “U.S. Startup Outlook 2016,” here are some of the key data points from a survey of startup executives:
- 36 percent of respondents said that they expect their business to stay about the same or worsen, up from 23 percent in 2015 and 18 percent in 2014.
- 82 percent said that raising money is at least somewhat challenging, which is in line with responses of the last couple years.
- Venture capital is still the primary funding source for startups; 42 percent of those surveyed plan for VC to be where they get their next capital injection. The next largest response was “Angel/Micro VC funding” at 11 percent.
- 56 percent think that the best “realistic” outcome for their company will be an acquisition; 17 percent said an IPO, 19 percent said staying private and 8 percent don’t know.
One thing that’s only a little surprising is how much startup execs are worried about “access to talent” during a time when their companies’ ability to compete seems to be more closely tied to the health of the economy as a whole. But perhaps these founders shouldn’t be worried; if more unicorns end up biting the dust, the market for engineers might suddenly get a lot bigger.
You can read the full report here.
This article originally appeared on Recode.net.
