Editor's Pick: Six Reasons to Stick with Your Startup
We're starting a new feature on ReadWriteWeb, called 'Editor's Picks.' As founding editor of the site, every weekend I'll pick out 2-3 posts from the past week which I thought were particularly good and worth highlighting. We'll start with a post by Jolie O'Dell in our ReadWriteStart channel, which is a subsite devoted to early stage startups and geared towards entrepreneurs. Jolie wrote an inspirational post entitled Six Reasons to Stick with Your Startup: Survival Stories from the Trenches. You can click on the previous link to read the whole post, which I encourage you to do. I've also pasted a few highlights below...
Jolie wrote:
Starting a new tech company is a labor of love. Particularly in the beginning, when funds are low, expectations are high, and the product is still a twinkle in the developer's eye, stressful situations under external pressures can lead to pull-the-plug moments.
When we interviewed Pandora founder Tim Westergren last week, he shared his personal brush with startup death: In 2007, it seemed that the music-streaming site would have to declare bankruptcy and close shop. Pandora's success is one reason to stick with your own startup. Here are six more.
[...]
Thirty-Seven Cents and a Heart Full of Hope Adrenaline
Grocio founder Gerald Buckley went so far as to share the exact dollar amount of his worst fears realized:
"I was $0.37 away from closing it up. Literally, that was all I had left in the bank account. There wasn't enough to pay next month's legal bills."
However, a dramatic turn of events saved him and his startup at the last minute. "In mid-November, Grocio won top prize in a local business model competition sponsored by the City of Tulsa and a local bank. That put $30K in the bank (non-equity, non-debt). Then the state of Oklahoma awarded us $100K matching funds (again, non-equity, non-debt). Money became less an issue and allowed us to focus on execution."
Although the economy began changing the equation once again last fall, Buckley encourages other startups, "I'm going to have the startup bug all my life, I think. NEVER give up if you really believe!"
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Nice postings....great information..I Like this.
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This is a very useful information and thanks for such a release of information ..
Sorry, I don't get this "Editor's Picks" thing: We've seen all these posts before, so what makes you think we would want to read them again?
I think all of your points are valid. Although, when people voice their opinion on an idea or project it is key that you suspend your voice of judgement and start to ask questions. There is usually something valid in every opinion and question. The job is to find the validity in them. Even the stupid ones can prevent you from tripping up. I think the key is to to stay focused and always ask questions. Never assume you have all of the answers.
A sound business plan is good. But plans are usually obsolete as soon as your print them out on your printer because there are constant changes to your product or service in order to attract customers. In simple terms…there is always something.