Why to Start a Startup in a Bad Economy - The Diigo Meta page

• 08 Apr 09
  

  Bob Potter

  startups entrepreneurship economy recession strategy

• 10 Mar 09
  

  Vincent Chan
  • When Microsoft and Apple were founded.
  • 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.
  • 7 more annotations...
  • • 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.
    • run it as cheaply as possible
    • 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
    • You're an investor too. As a founder, you're buying stock with
      work
    • And like any investor you
      should buy when times are bad.
• 09 Jan 09
  

  mikeem em

  toread good article

• 07 Nov 08
  

  Nathan Christianson

  Lance's Company

• 28 Oct 08
  

  Irene Shen
• 23 Oct 08
  

  organizedagent plentipridence28

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• 22 Oct 08
  

  tsefey freestock

  startup economy

• 21 Oct 08
  

  Gary Edwards

  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. 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.

  vc silicon-valley entrepreneurship startup

• 20 Oct 08
  

  Marc Harrison

  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.

  startups

• 18 Oct 08
  

  Vincent Tsao
• 

  Michael K.

  interesting view on the current situation for those planning to start an enterprise

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• 

  Sho Tabata

  startup

• 17 Oct 08
  

  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."

  startup economy

• 

  Andy Brudtkuhl

  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.

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• 

  Chris Selland
• 

  Marc Thouvenin

  startup business recession delicious

• 

  Geekgirl 397

  startups startup recession paulgraham to_read business economy 2008

• 

  Bobby Liu

  society economy education study

  • Which means that what matters is who you are, not when you do it.
  • 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.
  • 3 more annotations...
  • • 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.
    • But if you have a specific idea you want to
      act on, act now.
      
    • You have to be a contrarian to be correct, and
      by definition only a minority of investors can be.
• 

  Miriam Schwab

  Explains why it's a good idea to start a company during bad times.

  business interesting

• 

  F M

  startup economy

• 

  Ben Phillips

  business economics

• 16 Oct 08
  

  FruFru FourOne
• 

  Joel Liu

  startup

  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 3 more annotations...
  • • 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.
    • 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.
    • 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.
• 

  Chuck Brands

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