I attended a startup pitch event last week, the sort of event I have been attending on a regular basis for a few years now. Investors in the Southeast have always been more concerned with a path to profitability than their counterparts in Silicon Valley, but sustainable growth was even more of a focus at this event and there seemed outright disdain for the growth-at-all-costs mindset that dominates most venture capital (e.g. there are publicly-traded companies that grew with venture funding that still aren’t profitable). This event was more for practice for the founders than anything else and most of the companies speaking will never seek investment from venture funds, but that wasn’t the point—I was there to listen to the investors and get a sense of what they are thinking.

There has been some heavy consternation in the startup space during the last few months. Y Combinator published a memorandum to founders telling them to prepare for lean times that has become a lightning rod for both criticism and praise. The current economic state might best be summarized by a quote from Game of Thrones: Chaos is a ladder. Lots of companies will retract and recoil. Some might fail entirely. Yet there will be others that come through this crucible and become juggernauts. And for those of you reading this who don’t have your own businesses, a similar logic holds for people as well. There will still be opportunities, just maybe not the ones you thought would exist a few months ago.