When the ‘dry powder’ disappears

Venture capitalists have raised record-breaking funds in recent years, but that doesn’t always mean the money is there for them when they want it. In extreme downturns, the people and institutions that promise capital to venture capital firms, and then wire it when the VCs need it for their startups, have little choice but to answer the phone less. The alternative is to sell others of their positions — including in publicly traded stocks —  at a steep loss, and they’d really prefer not to do that.