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Not a Dime of Investing - Why the Startup Bubble Is About to Burst: an interview with Bohdan Holland
The air in Lisbon is thick with ambition and recycled air conditioning. At the Web Summit, it’s a sensory overload of clattering keyboards, a thousand simultaneous pitches, and the faint, sweet smell of burnout masked by free espresso. Everyone here is selling a future that’s just one check away.
I found Bohdan Holland tucked away in a semi-quiet corner, like a silent observer in the eye of the hurricane. As the Head of Growth of INSART, a venture building company, Bohdan has a front-row seat to the hopes, dreams, and often, the harsh realities of early-stage startups. While everyone else was buzzing, he was calm. And when he speaks about the state of the ecosystem, he doesn’t mince words.
“We’re not in a downturn,” he says, his voice even. “We’re in a detox. And it’s going to be painful.”
I found Bohdan Holland tucked away in a semi-quiet corner, like a silent observer in the eye of the hurricane. As the Head of Growth of INSART, a venture building company, Bohdan has a front-row seat to the hopes, dreams, and often, the harsh realities of early-stage startups. While everyone else was buzzing, he was calm. And when he speaks about the state of the ecosystem, he doesn’t mince words.
“We’re not in a downturn,” he says, his voice even. “We’re in a detox. And it’s going to be painful.”
On The ‘Startup Clutter’ and the Death of Friction
When I ask him for the canary in the coal mine, he doesn’t hesitate.
“The most obvious signal is the sheer devaluation of an early-stage startup,” he begins, gesturing around us. “Ten years ago, building an MVP was a project. It required developers, capital, and a leap of faith. Now?” He shrugs. “You can stitch together a ‘company’ overnight with no-code tools. You haven’t spoken to a single potential user, but you have a landing page and a PayPal link. It’s creation without conviction.”
He calls this the era of “startup clutter.” And walking the floor, it’s undeniable. Row upon row of nearly identical SaaS platforms, all promising to revolutionize “workflow” with AI. It’s a sea of sameness.
“The barrier to entry didn’t just lower; it vanished,” he continues. “And when creation is frictionless, people build because they can, not because they should.
We’ve optimized for speed, but completely forgotten about value.”
When I ask him for the canary in the coal mine, he doesn’t hesitate.
“The most obvious signal is the sheer devaluation of an early-stage startup,” he begins, gesturing around us. “Ten years ago, building an MVP was a project. It required developers, capital, and a leap of faith. Now?” He shrugs. “You can stitch together a ‘company’ overnight with no-code tools. You haven’t spoken to a single potential user, but you have a landing page and a PayPal link. It’s creation without conviction.”
He calls this the era of “startup clutter.” And walking the floor, it’s undeniable. Row upon row of nearly identical SaaS platforms, all promising to revolutionize “workflow” with AI. It’s a sea of sameness.
“The barrier to entry didn’t just lower; it vanished,” he continues. “And when creation is frictionless, people build because they can, not because they should.
We’ve optimized for speed, but completely forgotten about value.”
The Investor Psyche: From FOMO to the Frustration of Finding Signal in the Noise
The common narrative is that investors have simply closed their wallets. Holland thinks that’s a superficial take.
“It’s not that the money’s gone. It’s that investors have a massive hangover from the cheap-money party,” he explains. “A lot of smaller funds saw the Rocket Labs of the world and thought that was the normal trajectory. That’s survivorship bias on steroids. For every rocket, there’s a graveyard of failed launches nobody tweets about.”
The result, he says, is a deep-seated skepticism. It’s not a lack of capital, but a crisis of trust.
“They’re exhausted. They can’t tell who’s a real builder and who’s just a great storyteller with a Figma prototype. So the checks are smaller, the terms are tougher, and they’re looking you in the eye to see if you’ve ever actually spoken to a customer. They can smell a pitch deck that’s heavier than the product from a mile away.”
The common narrative is that investors have simply closed their wallets. Holland thinks that’s a superficial take.
“It’s not that the money’s gone. It’s that investors have a massive hangover from the cheap-money party,” he explains. “A lot of smaller funds saw the Rocket Labs of the world and thought that was the normal trajectory. That’s survivorship bias on steroids. For every rocket, there’s a graveyard of failed launches nobody tweets about.”
The result, he says, is a deep-seated skepticism. It’s not a lack of capital, but a crisis of trust.
“They’re exhausted. They can’t tell who’s a real builder and who’s just a great storyteller with a Figma prototype. So the checks are smaller, the terms are tougher, and they’re looking you in the eye to see if you’ve ever actually spoken to a customer. They can smell a pitch deck that’s heavier than the product from a mile away.”
The Founder’s Fallacy: Chasing the Round, Not the Problem
This investor shift is a direct reaction to a fundamental change in founder mentality, Bohdan argues.
“The most damaging misconception today is that raising capital is a milestone in itself. I meet founders who can’t tell me what their burn rate is, or what concrete milestone a $500,000 check will unlock. They just know they’re ‘supposed’ to raise a Seed round.”
He paints a contrast with the past. “A decade ago, startups were businesses. They started with revenue. You sold something, found a customer, and grew from there. Now, profitability is often treated as an exotic, optional feature. The primary validation metric has become the amount of money raised. It’s completely backwards.”
“We’ve created this quiet tragedy,” he adds, leaning forward. “Founders are now raising money to validate their idea, instead of validating their idea to earn the money. They’re putting the cart before the horse, and the horse is getting tired.”
This investor shift is a direct reaction to a fundamental change in founder mentality, Bohdan argues.
“The most damaging misconception today is that raising capital is a milestone in itself. I meet founders who can’t tell me what their burn rate is, or what concrete milestone a $500,000 check will unlock. They just know they’re ‘supposed’ to raise a Seed round.”
He paints a contrast with the past. “A decade ago, startups were businesses. They started with revenue. You sold something, found a customer, and grew from there. Now, profitability is often treated as an exotic, optional feature. The primary validation metric has become the amount of money raised. It’s completely backwards.”
“We’ve created this quiet tragedy,” he adds, leaning forward. “Founders are now raising money to validate their idea, instead of validating their idea to earn the money. They’re putting the cart before the horse, and the horse is getting tired.”
We met with Bohdan at the WebSummit, in the heart of Lisbon, where Uber, GitLab and OpenAI presented their products over the past decade - in the same pavilions.
Is the Capital Truly Gone?
Given his stark warning, I press him on the title’s implication: is there really “not a dime” to invest?
“That’s the dramatic part,” he smiles. “The capital is absolutely still here. Globally, there’s a mountain of dry powder. The crisis is one of fragmentation and worthiness.”
He breaks it down: top accelerators slightly trimmed their standard checks, countless new micro-funds emerged, and the number of founders exploded.
“So you have this insane dilution,” he says. “You’re not fighting for a slice of a bigger pie; you’re fighting for a crumb from a pie that’s being shared among ten times the people. The competition is ferocious, and the bar for what constitutes a 'fundable' company has skyrocketed. The capital didn't vanish; it just got a lot more discerning.”
Given his stark warning, I press him on the title’s implication: is there really “not a dime” to invest?
“That’s the dramatic part,” he smiles. “The capital is absolutely still here. Globally, there’s a mountain of dry powder. The crisis is one of fragmentation and worthiness.”
He breaks it down: top accelerators slightly trimmed their standard checks, countless new micro-funds emerged, and the number of founders exploded.
“So you have this insane dilution,” he says. “You’re not fighting for a slice of a bigger pie; you’re fighting for a crumb from a pie that’s being shared among ten times the people. The competition is ferocious, and the bar for what constitutes a 'fundable' company has skyrocketed. The capital didn't vanish; it just got a lot more discerning.”
The Coming Cull: Who Survives the Reset?
So, who makes it through?
“The survivors won’t be the fastest builders,” Bohdan states firmly. “They’ll be the most stubborn, the most consistent. Right now, discipline is a competitive advantage. Most founders treat their ideas like a Netflix queue - they start one, get bored, and jump to the next. There’s no stamina.”
He predicts a brutal wave of shutdowns and a collapse in acqui-hires. “What are you acquiring? A no-code template? A list of 100 free-tier users? There’s no ‘there’ there. No unique tech, no loyal customers, no revenue. It’s a house of cards.”
The companies that will endure, he says, are the ones embracing “unfashionable” principles: talking to users until they’re sick of it, building slowly, understanding their unit economics.
“In other words, the boring, old-school startups. The actual businesses.”
So, who makes it through?
“The survivors won’t be the fastest builders,” Bohdan states firmly. “They’ll be the most stubborn, the most consistent. Right now, discipline is a competitive advantage. Most founders treat their ideas like a Netflix queue - they start one, get bored, and jump to the next. There’s no stamina.”
He predicts a brutal wave of shutdowns and a collapse in acqui-hires. “What are you acquiring? A no-code template? A list of 100 free-tier users? There’s no ‘there’ there. No unique tech, no loyal customers, no revenue. It’s a house of cards.”
The companies that will endure, he says, are the ones embracing “unfashionable” principles: talking to users until they’re sick of it, building slowly, understanding their unit economics.
“In other words, the boring, old-school startups. The actual businesses.”
A Glimpse at 2027: A Smaller, Healthier Ecosystem
Looking ahead, Bohdan sees a necessary, if painful, market correction.
“By 2027, the hype will have drained out. The number of new startups will plummet because people will get tired of losing the game. The ‘one-night-stand’ startup will die off, and founders will crawl back to stable jobs, exhausted.”
But he’s quick to clarify this isn’t a doomsday prediction. “The real unicorns, the ones built on fundamentals, will be fine. This isn’t an extinction-level event. It’s a forest fire. It clears out the underbrush so the strong trees can grow taller.”
Looking ahead, Bohdan sees a necessary, if painful, market correction.
“By 2027, the hype will have drained out. The number of new startups will plummet because people will get tired of losing the game. The ‘one-night-stand’ startup will die off, and founders will crawl back to stable jobs, exhausted.”
But he’s quick to clarify this isn’t a doomsday prediction. “The real unicorns, the ones built on fundamentals, will be fine. This isn’t an extinction-level event. It’s a forest fire. It clears out the underbrush so the strong trees can grow taller.”
Bohdan expects lots of startups to collapse in the next few years - but the future still looking bright for those who are striving for work and consistency.
The Uncomfortable Truth and a Glimmer of Hope
His final message for founders is blunt.
“Most of you will fail. Not just once, but probably several times. Our culture celebrates the launch, the speed, the hype. It ignores the grind, the resilience, the sheer boring work of analytics and customer interviews. That’s the stuff that actually builds companies. You can’t no-code your way through that.”
Yet, for all the grimness, he’s ultimately optimistic.
“This is the most rewarding environment possible for the founders who are willing to do the hard, unsexy work. When the tide of hype goes out, the people who built on solid ground will be left standing. For them, the opportunity will be enormous. There will be less noise, more oxygen, and a real chance to build something meaningful.”
His final message for founders is blunt.
“Most of you will fail. Not just once, but probably several times. Our culture celebrates the launch, the speed, the hype. It ignores the grind, the resilience, the sheer boring work of analytics and customer interviews. That’s the stuff that actually builds companies. You can’t no-code your way through that.”
Yet, for all the grimness, he’s ultimately optimistic.
“This is the most rewarding environment possible for the founders who are willing to do the hard, unsexy work. When the tide of hype goes out, the people who built on solid ground will be left standing. For them, the opportunity will be enormous. There will be less noise, more oxygen, and a real chance to build something meaningful.”
One Piece of Counter-Intuitive Advice
As we wrap up, I ask for his one piece of fundraising advice.
He doesn't talk about perfecting a pitch. Instead, he says: “Slow down. Seriously. Ask yourself the hardest question: Do you even need to raise money right now? The smartest move might be to go build something people are willing to pay for, first. Profitability is the best fundraising strategy everyone ignores.”
We step back into the roaring current of the summit. The energy is still electric, but now I see the fragility beneath the surface. The desperate handshakes, the glazed eyes of investors, the stacks of glossy decks. Holland’s realism wasn’t pessimism; it was a necessary antidote to the frenzy.
The bubble may not pop with a bang, but with a slow, steady hiss of deflating dreams. And on the other side, a quieter, harder, and ultimately more real ecosystem awaits.
As we wrap up, I ask for his one piece of fundraising advice.
He doesn't talk about perfecting a pitch. Instead, he says: “Slow down. Seriously. Ask yourself the hardest question: Do you even need to raise money right now? The smartest move might be to go build something people are willing to pay for, first. Profitability is the best fundraising strategy everyone ignores.”
We step back into the roaring current of the summit. The energy is still electric, but now I see the fragility beneath the surface. The desperate handshakes, the glazed eyes of investors, the stacks of glossy decks. Holland’s realism wasn’t pessimism; it was a necessary antidote to the frenzy.
The bubble may not pop with a bang, but with a slow, steady hiss of deflating dreams. And on the other side, a quieter, harder, and ultimately more real ecosystem awaits.
NOVEMBER, 26 / 2025
Text author: Kathryn Forrest
Photography&Editing: Maryna Kostenko
Photography&Editing: Maryna Kostenko
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