
Benchmark Capital Advises Startups To Conserve Capital, Look For Opportunities  - nickb
http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/10/09/benchmark-capital-advises-startups-to-conserve-capital/
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dennykmiu
I survived the last economic downturn. I left my first startup which didn't
survive the telecom bubble and eventually restart my career in 2003. In the
first presidential debate, John McCain uttered the words "this is the end of
the beginning" as if the $700B bailout signified the worst of the financial
ruin and we should start to work on the recovery. This might be true for the
general economy (I doubt it) but it is clearly not true for startups. My
advise to startup CEO's is that this is just the "beginning of the beginning".
Whatever you do, don't be an optimist. This will get a lot worse for a lot
longer. If you don't have enough cash to sustain burnrate for at least two
years, you will die. Unfortunately, right now your cash is your most valuable
asset, not your employees. Cutting headcount is the only way to conserve cash.
Don't rely on the VC's to save your company. They are the wrong people to turn
to in a downturn.

<http://www.lovemytool.com/blog/2007/10/vc-worst-enemy.html>

