pretty awesome analysis, i've definitely had some misconceptions dispelled and some suspicions confirmed. extremely helpful for an active angel investor like myself. i particularly like knowing the optimal range for how many times a startup should pivot.
I like the astute observations being made, but I'd like to suggest that leverage is a bad thing for startups in a developed economy. I think everything stated still holds if you substitute "equity investment" for leverage, and the result for everyone tends to be better.