Venture capital's sum of all fears

Fintech giant Klarna has put its IPO plans on ice, due to President Trump's trade war. And then so did Chime, eToro, MNTN, and StubHub.The IPO window is nailed shut. Even if investors buy the dip, they'll favor known names over new issues.Limited partners are suddenly feeling denominator effects for the first time in years, and it's even more extreme for universities and nonprofits that have had some of their federal funding cut.Finally, there's no LP goodwill after years of delayed distributions.

VC and private equity are in a mess of their own making

VC and PE pros like to talk about how they aren't market timers, unlike those heathen hedge fund managers.But that's exactly what they've been for several years, waiting for better conditions before taking their companies public or actively seeking buyers. Cheered on by timid bankers who wouldn't risk a lemon in their sparse baskets.It was just such a ludicrous thing to say in the midst of a prolonged bull market for public equities, and contributed to a distribution drought.Sure, there were legit antitrust concerns. But anyone assuming that Trump's regulators would be much more lenient, or less capricious, wasn't really paying attention. Well, unless you're a crypto investor.