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What is ZIRP, and how did it impact the startup world?

If you’ve spent any time on the startup side of Twitter, you’ve probably seen the word “ZIRP” thrown around. In this episode of Dalton + Michael, the two talk about this economic phenomenon and the ripples it caused in the startup world.

ZIRP stands for “ Z ero I nterest R ate P henomenon,” and it refers to a stretch of time — most recently throughout the pandemic — in which the Federal Reserve sets interest rates around 0% and commercial banks are able to borrow money for next-to-nothing. In this episode of Dalton + Michael, we’ll talk about some of the downstream side effects we saw during this stretch: an explosion of unicorns, a surge of new investors, and the impact it had on the way founders think. We’ll share the advice we gave YC founders to brace them for the future, and how some companies made the right move in the middle of an unusual/unsustainable moment.

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