St. Louis, Missouri has a new fund aimed at helping early stage startups get through the "Valley of Death. ": The Valley of Death isn't an LTV, PoC, MVP, or CAC, or some other incomprehensible combination of letters. Companies that successfully cross the Valley of Death are twice as likely to succeed (or, put another way, are more likely not to die). They are twice as likely to become a job-creating, wealth-generating positive contributor to a local economy.