Unless you’ve been living under a rock, there are a few certainties that you should know about: the world is going to end, markets will literally explode and end all your chances of financial freedom, and this is a horrible time to be in a startup.
Now that we know the facts, I thought I’d take some time to reflect on the realities of the situation based on my (limited) experience as a startup CEO. I’m not a blind optimist, but I think the best suggestion in this situation is simple: forget the depressing “reality” painted by the so-called pundits, and just get on with it. Why? Because I really believe the naysayers are full of shit, and it really is a great time to be building a startup. Here’s why:
10) You can’t dwell on what you cannot control and change, so this is the perfect opportunity to concentrate on the present and focus on delighting your customers TODAY. I don’t practice Buddhism, but I think Buddha got it spot on: “Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future – concentrate your mind on the present moment.”
9) Capital efficiency is your friend (thanks Fred). You always wanted to do it, but now you have no excuse. Optimize spending, optimize investing, optimize hiring, optimize everything. This one is Buddha version 2.0: “Yesterday is a canceled check. Tomorrow is a promissory note. What we have today is ready cash – so spend it wisely.”
All your competitors with million dollar burn-rates are in trouble.
7) The current crop of startup winners were all created right after the Dot-Com bubble burst. Naysayers were out in droves in 2001 as well. Look at what happened to some of the entrepreneurs who chose to ignore the doom and gloom and just got on with it. $$$.
6) There are fewer distractions. All the hype surrounding web startups and the Web 2.0 bubble will disappear. Rather than worry about flipping your company or XYZ buying ABC for $100 million dollars, you can focus on your product.
5) Yes, product. In times like these, let your product speak louder than anything else. If you build something people want and need, all you need to do is make sure you can continue providing it. If you stop today, it’s going to be pretty hard for people to get to your product. Don’t disappoint them.
4) Build a great team, and don’t worry about paying them boatloads of money. You don’t have money, they don’t expect money, so its a pretty decent ZOPA (zone of probable agreement). There’ll be plenty of talent available. If said talent comes with high salary requirements, slap them across the face. Then tell them “thanks, but no thanks.”
3) Necessity is a big ass mother (of invention). You’re brain synapses should be firing on all cylinders and creative juices flowing non-stop. A little creativity will go a long way, and no one will dismiss your crazy ideas if it can a) save money or b) extend your runway or c) get you sales. Also guerrilla marketing is fun.
2) Remember that business model you’ve been putting away for a while? Well, dust it off and starting focusing on it now. During the good times, things like business models often seem like perks or bonuses. Bad times are a blessing in disguise – you can bring back the biz model and put it front and center. God help you if you don’t have one.
1) You’re an entrepreneur. Your whole purpose of being is so that you can take scarce resources, optimize like hell and get maximum output from the least input. This is your time to shine.
The most important thing to remember is if you quit, there’s a 0% chance of success. Life’s too short to worry, so just go out there and have fun. Build a kick-ass product that’ll delight your customers [edit: changed from "users"].
And don’t worry about the world coming to an end today. It’s already tomorrow in Australia.
Finally a great post without the doom and gloom. It’s good hearing the words of an optimistic CEO. I wish you and Newscred the best of luck.
> focus on delighting your users TODAY
That really should be focus on delighting your customers, not users.
Steve – good point! I’ve fixed that… As Andrew Chen says “[customer] implies both the highest value and best treatment of the folks visiting your site.”
I too applaud your optimism in this post.
Focus (like nothing else matters – because nothing else does now) on creating VALUE for your customers. Not just any value – but the kind of old fashioned value (aka ROI) that will make them want to pay you.
More at:
http://briantroy.com/blog/2008/10/13/a-return-to-sensibility/
[...] great people at NewsCred posted in their blog today a great list explaining, in 10 reasons, why this is the best time to build a start up. I won’t steal their content, so I recommend you go check out the entire list. Instead, I [...]
[...] NewsCred Blog » Blog Archive » 10 Reasons This is the Best Time to Build a Startup "I’m not a blind optimist, but I think the best suggestion in this situation is simple: forget the depressing “reality” painted by the so-called pundits, and just get on with it. Why? Because I really believe the naysayers are full of shit, and it really is a great time to be building a startup. Here’s why…" (tags: startup entrepreneurship financialcrisis) [...]
[...] (10-11-08): Brian Solis has a positive spin on this on Techcrunch here. Update (10-15-08): Great post by the Newscred crew. Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)Recession-proof [...]
Thanks for the comment Shafqat! My partner and I have been ranting daily about how it seems like every VC firm and startup seems to be whining about the sky falling and doing nothing about it. Put your head down and get it done guys; you’re entrepreneurs, your core values should revolve around overcoming adversity.
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[...] “10 Reasons This is the Best Time to Build a Startup” [...]
great post. focus on the product relentlessly. get it right and the rest will be easier.
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