

Overall venture funding goes down - industry pundits panic. Let them - sharpshoot
http://blog.snaptalent.com/?p=9

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ardit33
slightly cocky, comming from a startup that depends on other startups being
able to hire.

For every 6 crappy ideas not being funded, might a good one that unfortunately
might not be funded as well.

And it is crazy thinking that overrall economy and investors' sentiments don't
matter. What if in 3-4 years the economy is still not fully recovered, and
your company is running out of cash? What if you want to exit? A lot of
companies that cashed out around 2002-2003 were undervalued, because such was
the sentiment right then. Rottentomatoes sold for something like 10million
(don't remember the exact sum), and if it waited few more years it probably
will have fetched a lot more.

We don't know how long, and how bad this downturn will be, this is just the
beginning.

~~~
sharpshoot
Hi Ardit33, our longer term outlook isn't build around serving startups -
thats a very cyclical market. Instead we believe that a better online approach
will win customers as they cut costs in their recruiting budgets.

My point is centered around not getting distracted by the media frenzy around
this problem. If it affects your startup adjust - its doesn't mean ignore it
completely. Crazed optimism and a desire to do whatever it takes is what
startup founders should be focusing on. At least we are at Snaptalent.

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mlinsey
I don't understand the argument that "less investment means only the better
companies will get funded." At best, you would have to say "less investment
means only the better companies [according to VC's] will get funded". VC's are
probably better at picking companies than disgruntled entrepreneurs admit, but
all of them clearly fund more failures that successes.

But I think the most likely result is that "less investment means that only
the _safer bets_ will get funded." If there is a general economic downturn and
fewer opportunities for a big exit (from either buyout or IPO), than I would
think that VC's would get more conservative.

The other key indicator will be the health of the online ad market; if it
collapses than you can expect the entire VC/startup ecosystem to collapse.
This is why Google's earnings last week were such good news. But even if a
downturn in the ad market does happen, maybe that won't be such a bad thing -
then _everyone_ would have to listen to DHH!

