Back to Basics: Rebuilding VC in 2024 – Insights from WashU

Venture capitalists and startup founders may view the recent collapse of hundreds of U.S. private venture-backed companies as an opportunity to refocus on fundamentals, according to Doug Villhard of Washington University in St. Louis’ Olin Business School. Villhard prefers busts to booms, and said investors’ focus on cryptocurrency, web3 and artificial intelligence meant they disregarded potentially viable ideas including developing a local approach to circuit-board production. Every hopeful startup should consider several basic questions, including whether its solution solves a problem big enough to warrant a customer’s willingness to pay, Villhard said.