This link has been bookmarked by 125 people . It was first bookmarked on 16 Oct 2008, by someone privately.
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04 Dec 22
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04 Sep 17
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the state of the economy doesn't matter much either way.
If we've learned one thing from funding so many startups, it's that they succeed or fail based on the qualities of the founders. The economy has some effect, certainly, but as a predictor of success it's rounding error compared to the founders. -
what matters is who you are, not when you do it. If you're the right sort of person, you'll win even in a bad economy. And if you're not, a good economy won't save you.
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if you want to improve your chances, you should think far more about who you can recruit as a cofounder than the state of the economy.
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Technology progresses more or less independently of the stock market. So for any given idea, the payoff for acting fast in a bad economy will be higher than for waiting.
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Startups often make things cheaper, so in that respect they're better positioned to prosper in a recession than big companies.
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investors tend to be less willing to invest in bad times. They shouldn't be.
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The mistake investors make is not the criteria they use but that they always tend to focus on one to the exclusion of the rest.
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Fortunately the way to make a startup recession-proof is to do exactly what you should do anyway: run it as cheaply as possible.
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The immediate cause of death in a startup is always running out of money. So the cheaper your company is to operate, the harder it is to kill. And fortunately it has gotten very cheap to run a startup. A recession will if anything make it cheaper still.
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Another advantage of bad times is that there's less competition.
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maybe a recession is a good time to start a startup. It's hard to say whether advantages like lack of competition outweigh disadvantages like reluctant investors. But it doesn't matter much either way. It's the people that matter.
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08 Dec 14
Jordan GoldmanThe economic situation is apparently so grim that some experts fear we may be in for a stretch as bad as the mid seventies. When Microsoft and Apple were founded.
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07 Nov 14
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12 Jul 11
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You'll have to adapt to this. But that's nothing new: startups always have to adapt to the whims of investors. Ask any founder in any economy if they'd describe investors as fickle, and watch the face they make. Last year you had to be prepared to explain how your startup was viral. Next year you'll have to explain how it's recession-proof.
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You'll have to adapt to this. But that's nothing new: startups always have to adapt to the whims of investors. Ask any founder in any economy if they'd describe investors as fickle, and watch the face they make. Last year you had to be prepared to explain how your startup was viral. Next year you'll have to explain how it's recession-proof.
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02 Feb 11
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09 Oct 09
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19 Apr 09
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10 Mar 09
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When Microsoft and Apple were founded.
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If we've learned one thing from funding so many startups, it's that they succeed or fail based on the qualities of the founders. The economy has some effect, certainly, but as a predictor of success it's rounding error compared to the founders.
-
If you're the right sort of person, you'll win even in a bad economy. And if you're not, a good economy won't save you.
-
you should think far more about who you can recruit as a cofounder than the state of the economy
-
Startups often make things cheaper, so in that respect they're better positioned to prosper in a recession than big companies.
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run it as cheaply as possible
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The immediate cause of death in a startup is always running out of money. So the cheaper your company is to operate, the harder it is to kill
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You're an investor too. As a founder, you're buying stock with work
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And like any investor you should buy when times are bad.
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21 Oct 08
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Gary EdwardsIf we've learned one thing from funding so many startups, it's that they succeed or fail based on the qualities of the founders. The economy has some effect, certainly, but as a predictor of success it's rounding error compared to the founders.
Which means that what matters is who you are, not when you do it. If you're the right sort of person, you'll win even in a bad economy. And if you're not, a good economy won't save you. Someone who thinks "I better not start a startup now, because the economy is so bad" is making the same mistake as the people who thought during the Bubble "all I have to do is start a startup, and I'll be rich."
So if you want to improve your chances, you should think far more about who you can recruit as a cofounder than the state of the economy. And if you're worried about threats to the survival of your company, don't look for them in the news. Look in the mirror. -
20 Oct 08
Philippe NormandThe economic situation is apparently so grim that some experts fear we may be in for a stretch as bad as the mid seventies.
When Microsoft and Apple were founded. -
Bart De WaeleYou're an investor too. As a founder, you're buying stock with work
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viniciusjlThe economic situation is apparently so grim that some experts fear we may be in for a stretch as bad as the mid seventies. When Microsoft and Apple were founded. As those examples suggest, a recession may not be such a bad time to start a startup. I'm no
paul_graham article blog business interesting strategy for:tcristino
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Mohit JustThe economic situation is apparently so grim that some experts fear we may be in for a stretch as bad as the mid seventies.
When Microsoft and Apple were founded. -
The economic situation is apparently so grim that some experts fear we may be in for a stretch as bad as the mid seventies.
When Microsoft and Apple were founded.
As those examples suggest, a recession may not be such a bad time to start a startup. I'm not claiming it's a particularly good time either. The truth is more boring: the state of the economy doesn't matter much either way.
If we've learned one thing from funding so many startups, it's that they succeed or fail based on the qualities of the founders. The economy has some effect, certainly, but as a predictor of success it's rounding error compared to the founders. -
19 Oct 08
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Arjan ZuidhofPaul Graham's latest essay came out somewhere last week (he doesn't give an exact date). Very interesting point is that -contrary to popular belief - even in these days of crisis it might be a very good idea to start a company: there will always be a dema
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18 Oct 08
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17 Oct 08
Boris Mann"So if you want to improve your chances, you should think far more about who you can recruit as a cofounder than the state of the economy." -- we have so many "cofounder match maker" requests that I'm seriously thinking about some technology to help with
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Fogday StudiosWhich means that what matters is who you are, not when you do it. If you're the right sort of person, you'll win even in a bad economy. And if you're not, a good economy won't save you. Someone who thinks "I better not start a startup now, because the eco
economy entrepreneurship advice inspiration career startup freelance strategy economics startups
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Antonio Tombolini"The truth is more boring: the state of the economy doesn't matter much either way.
If we've learned one thing from funding so many startups, it's that they succeed or fail based on the qualities of the founders. The economy has some effect, certainly, but as a predictor of success it's rounding error compared to the founders.
Which means that what matters is who you are, not when you do it." -
jordimAs those examples suggest, a recession may not be such a bad time to start a startup. I'm not claiming it's a particularly good time either. The truth is more boring: the state of the economy doesn't matter much either way.
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Andy BrudtkuhlThe economic situation is apparently so grim that some experts fear we may be in for a stretch as bad as the mid seventies.
When Microsoft and Apple were founded.
As those examples suggest, a recession may not be such a bad time to start a startup. I'm not claiming it's a particularly good time either. The truth is more boring: the state of the economy doesn't matter much either way.
If we've learned one thing from funding so many startups, it's that they succeed or fail based on the qualities of the founders. The economy has some effect, certainly, but as a predictor of success it's rounding error compared to the founders. -
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Which means that what matters is who you are, not when you do it.
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nd if you're worried about threats to the survival of your company, don't look for them in the news. Look in the mirror.
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And if you're worried about threats to the survival of your company, don't look for them in the news. Look in the mirror.
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But if you have a specific idea you want to act on, act now.
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You have to be a contrarian to be correct, and by definition only a minority of investors can be.
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Miriam SchwabExplains why it's a good idea to start a company during bad times.
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Daniel SchaeferPaul Graham writes on why it's good to be a contrarian when it comes to investing in yourself and your own startup.
writing paulgraham inspiration recession startup startups ic101 ic4u2read for:aajamde
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halbluchsA recession may not be such a bad time to start a startup. I'm not claiming it's a particularly good time either. The truth is more boring: the state of the economy doesn't matter much either way.
writing startups startup microsoft inspiration freelance entrepreneurship economy recession sandbox_content for:antoineverdon for:pforti for:frateric for:sevrue for:yannwanner for:dave.rad
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Jimmy Baikoviciusf we've learned one thing from funding so many startups, it's that they succeed or fail based on the qualities of the founders. The economy has some effect, certainly, but as a predictor of success it's rounding error compared to the founders.
startup career entrepreneur writing paulgraham article business economy apple microsoft recession
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16 Oct 08
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If we've learned one thing from funding so many startups, it's that they succeed or fail based on the qualities of the founders. The economy has some effect, certainly, but as a predictor of success it's rounding error compared to the founders.
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That doesn't mean you can ignore the economy. Both customers and investors will be feeling pinched. It's not necessarily a problem if customers feel pinched: you may even be able to benefit from it, by making things that save money. Startups often make things cheaper, so in that respect they're better positioned to prosper in a recession than big companies.
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Fortunately the way to make a startup recession-proof is to do exactly what you should do anyway: run it as cheaply as possible. For years I've been telling founders that the surest route to success is to be the cockroaches of the corporate world. The immediate cause of death in a startup is always running out of money. The cheaper your company is to operate, the harder it is to kill. Fortunately it has gotten very cheap to run a startup, and a recession will if anything make it cheaper still.
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Another advantage of bad times is that there's less competition. Technology trains leave the station at regular intervals. If everyone else is cowering in a corner, you may have a whole car to yourself.
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So maybe a recession is a good time to start a startup. It's hard to say whether advantages like lack of competition outweigh disadvantages like reluctant investors. But it doesn't matter much either way. It's the people that matter. And for a given set of people working on a given technology, the time to act is always now.
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