Gerald Michaud: Yes. Yes, that’s a good question. I think the reality is that it’s not one specific industry, which, at times in our business, it has because there can be some cycles in life science as an example that is very specific to that market versus more broader macro issues. What we’re seeing is that the dislocation in the broader markets is causing kind of a slowdown, take your time take a step back kind of environment where it’s not so much that anyone is concerned about a specific market or even a specific company. But they’re taking a very slow approach to when the market is going to change. So I think that in this case, just as macro environments have kind of lowered the tide for all boats, I think when the market turns around, you’ll see it will raise most boats because there really hasn’t been any specific event in any of the markets that we serve that would suggest that something is going on in those markets that are outside of macro dislocation events.
Vilas Abraham: Okay. And one of the things that founders and venture-backed companies started doing early last year was kind of trying to control their cash burn, right? And as you kind of think about how that’s progressed to this point? What inning do you think we’re in, in these companies getting to where they need to be to adapt to the new environment here?
Gerald Michaud: Yes. Again, a pretty good question because usually what happens — and this is a historical perspective, having been doing this for 30 years. By the time you’re asking the kind of questions you’re asking, 90% of the cuts and reduction in burn have already taken place. And that’s what we’re seeing in our market. We saw in the fourth quarter kind of — the whole venture ecosystem kind of slow down companies were very inwardly focused on cutting their costs, reducing expenses. So we think a lot of that, in fact, has happened — and even in the new opportunities we’re seeing, the companies have already kind of gone through a process where they’ve cut costs. and they’re managing their business, trying with a focus on getting to cash flow breakeven versus on significant growth.
So a lot of that has happened. And I think during the first half of this year, most of the transactions that we will see will be companies that have already kind of gone through that. And now the venture capitalist and the investors in these companies that are focused on what the next step is for the company getting back to kind of a growth scenario over time. maybe not in the first half of this year but going forward. And so that’s really what we have definitely seen a lot of that already happen.
Vilas Abraham: Okay, that’s helpful. And if I could squeeze one more in here on the synergies with the advisor. I think you mentioned that there are some expense saves that could be realized here. Can you quantify that at all or give any timing around that?
Robert Pomeroy: Yes. The answer really is, not yet. But the transaction just announced spent a lot of time working on it, but we don’t have any definitive answers for that at this time.
Operator: Ladies and gentlemen, there are no further questions in the queue. I would like to turn the conference over to Robert Pomeroy, Chairman and CEO, for closing comments.
Robert Pomeroy: Thank you all for joining us this morning. We appreciate your continued interest and support in Horizon, and we look forward to speaking with you again soon. This will conclude our call. Thank you.
Operator: Thank you. The conference of Horizon Technology Finance Corporation has now concluded. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect your lines.
