“Turbulent” best describes the global economy in the past two years. First, there was the Covid-19 pandemic, then a war following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and rapidly rising interest rates not seen in over a decade. As the era of cheap money has gone, how are local tech start-ups, especially the forerunners, faring? After all, it is during tough times that the fundamentals of companies are most tested. As legendary US investor Warren Buffett once said: “Only when the tides go out do you discover who’s been swimming naked.”