I'm not sure it's that wise to look at this years money in and this years money out. Wouldn't it make more sense to look at say the last 5 years of money out and the last 5 years-X of money in (X being 6-10ish, whatever the average time to exit is)?

I also only realized what Drano is halfway through the article (non-US guy). Why not use a more generic title that more of the world understands like "Silicon Valley Needs a Startup Plunger"?