Typically, even as a pre-seed or seed company, you can rely on being able to raise your next round if you hit certain milestones in your key metrics.
For example, if you are a SaaS company, you have a good story and team, and your TAM makes sense, you could have previously hit $300k-$1M ARR and raised a Series A. Some startups were even raising A's pre-revenue. In the new environment, that ability will likely dry up.
Personally, in times like this I can think of three places to invest:
1. Government Bonds
2. Cash (hoarding it)
3. Early Stage Startups
The most fun and promising is #3, because they will take a few years to reach public markets anyway, and by that time there should be another bull cycle. In the meantime, things need to be built anyway. Especially startups that build stuff that people need or things that save money (like metaverse saves on traveling) because they'll cut down on non-necessities (including entertainment, travel and fuel).
The two companies I personally run are 10 and 4 years old, respectively, and have never taken VC, let alone IPO. They have been designed to help communities in the hard times ahead, with their own social networks, coins, etc.
I've heard of VCs at all stages opting to sit out for a quarter or two to see how things shake up before resuming any deals. It was suggested that fundraising right now could take 9-12 months -- 1-2 quarters for folks to sit on the sidelines, and then another 1-2 quarters to kickstart their best deals. Plan accordingly.
