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How to Manage a Startup Through Troubling Times

Entrepreneurs' Organization

Like the downturns in 2008 and 2001, this has been a very trying time for entrepreneurs running startups. Here is advice I collected for dealing with the stress of running a startup: 1. Brad Feld, a partner at Foundry Group and investor in many successful startups, gave me this piece of advice. Remember that you are not alone.

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Making Sense of the Stock Market Drops in Relation to Venture Financing

Both Sides of the Table

I’ve seen friends (and family members) lose much of their savings that way over the years because “Black Swans” happen and in 1987, 2001, 2003 & 2008 (just to name a few from my memory) huge market gyrations caused much financial distress to people seeking short-term gains.

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Praying to the God of Valuation

Both Sides of the Table

2001–2007: THE BUILDING YEARS The dot com bubble had burst. Almost no financings, many VCs and tech startups cratered for the second time in less than a decade following the dot com bursting. How’s that advice holding up? Until we weren’t. Nobody cared about our valuations any more. Hey, we got to raise again next year.

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Why We Need to Elect @EricGarcetti on Tues as Next Mayor of Los Angeles

Both Sides of the Table

Garcetti worked with LegalZoom, ShopZilla, Hulu and others to try and change the tax ordinance to support the emergence of our biggest tech companies in LA city only to be stymied by the head of the office of finance, Antoinette Christovale as outlined in this article. Startup Advice' As does the mayor of Austin.

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Bad Notes on Venture Capital

Both Sides of the Table

At an accelerator … Me: Raising convertible notes as a seed round is one of the biggest disservices our industry has done to entrepreneurs since 2001-2003 when there were “full ratchets” and “multiple liquidation preferences” – the most hostile terms anybody found in term sheets 10 years ago. Truthfully.

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How Do You Reference Check a VC?

Both Sides of the Table

So my first advice is not to rush in the fund raising process. They made great introductions, they helped you get financed, the put in more money themselves, they helped you strategically and they helped you with your exit. Don’t take my advice, take Eric Clapton’s. My chips were down in late 2000 / early 2001.

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Be Careful not to be Penny Wise, Pound Foolish

Both Sides of the Table

We went “nuclear&# and slimmed down to 33 people (yes, I know, still large by today’s standards but this was 2001), raised $10 million and we built a real company. I learned everything I know about startups in these lean years: 2001-2004. Tags: Startup Advice. Photo courtesy of Pat Page via Flickr.

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