Comment by Animats

This is a VC perspective. They need 10x wins and expect mostly failure. From a VC perspective, the worst case is the zombie - cash flow positive, so you can't kill it, not making enough money to repay investors, and can't be ignored because the VC still owns it. A portfolio of zombies can eat all of a VC's time. It's easier on the VC if the losers just die already.