
Startup or Shutup – A talk I gave for people thinking of beginning a startup - tdondich
A few months ago, I gave a talk at a local LaunchUp event in Las Vegas.  The format was meant to be about my startup; however, I deviated and instead gave a talk about all the hurdles I encountered and how you need to be prepared if you intend to tackle the joy and disaster of entrepreneurship.<p>I didn&#x27;t realize it at the time that my friend recorded the talk.  So I decided to upload it and see if it would be of value to anyone.<p>The video link is: https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=r0ppRm4lUiM<p>I&#x27;d really appreciate any feedback, thoughts or discussions here or in the video comments.<p>Thanks!
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gferrand
"Quitting is lying to yourself." That resonated. No matter how hard it is to
build a startup and face the roller coaster of entrepreneurship...I guess in
the end I'm a masochist :D

Thanks for sharing, Taylor.

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tdondich
Thanks for the comment! You know you're an entrepreneur when you get hit hard
cry it out and get back up.

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askafriend
I think this type of advice is silly and in the end dangerous to those it
seeks to help.

Life is complex and blanket dogma such as "never quit no matter what, screw
the haters!" is detrimental. There ARE situations when you SHOULD quit.
Recognizing those situations may be hard, but it's still worthwhile to
consider quitting.

I don't care what fantasy of glory you're trying to chase, but for the love of
god please be pragmatic about it and consider the entirety of the situation
before making a decision that can impact your life in a big way, for better or
for worse.

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tdondich
Not sure if you watched the video or not. The advice, in context, described
what happened after my first startup failed. The first startup was recognized
as a failure and I had to admit defeat and let my staff go. This is, to your
point, acknowledging when it simply won't work.

However, the message of "Quitting is Lying to Yourself" is that if you have
the spirit of an entrepreneur, telling yourself that you'll never do it again
is lying to yourself because you know you will find a passion and feel the
desire and need to build something new.

