ZIRP. It's a funny-sounding acronym that you've probably seen people use on Twitter. But what is it?

It stands for "Zero Interest Rate Phenomenon" (or "Policy"), and it refers to stretches of time in which banks can borrow money from the Federal Reserve for around 0% interest. Banks want to put that next-to-free money somewhere, and in recent years — specifically, throughout the pandemic — a lot of that money ended up in tech/startups. 

This rush of cash had all sorts of wild downstream effects, impacting the way valuations were done, how investors approached deals, and the way many founders thought about building their companies.

In this latest episode of their series, Dalton & Michael break down what this most recent ZIRP period looked like from their perspective, how it was arguably "poison" for the startup world, and the advice they gave YC founders to help them brace for the future. Check it out here!

- Greg

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