I think whether it's a good idea or not to take the startup plunge comes down to the responsibilities of the individual. If you have a family to care for or a huge mortgage payment, then quitting your steady day job to launch a startup probably isn't the best decision to make.
If you have an idea that you can't get out of your head, do a startup. Otherwise join a startup.
For a long time, I've ranted against naming your startup community 'Silicon Whatever.' Instead, I believe every startup community already has a name. The Boulder startup community is called Boulder. The L.A. startup community is called L.A. The Washington D.C. startup community is called Washington D.C.
If you want to build a startup that has a good chance of succeeding, don't listen to me. Listen to Paul Graham and others who are applying tons of data to the idea of startup success. That will maximize your chance of being successful.
Please don’t get hung up on this question of whether you need to have experience in an industry before you launch your startup.
I've been very fortunate to be at the startup of a lot of different things. I was the startup of the Pancrase organization in Japan. Became a big figure over there. Then I was in the UFC and was at the startup of that, and I was a big figure in that. Twice. Not only in the beginning but also when it was taken over.
If someone is choosing between joining McKinsey or your startup it's very unlikely they're going to work out at the startup.
I can say without a doubt that being a mom is the ultimate test of my multi-tasking skills. I spend my day meeting startup after startup, helping our portfolio companies, bringing in speakers, and soon gearing up for Demo Day for our accelerator program.
Developing a good, healthy culture is extremely important at a startup. Culture reflects the essence of a startup's operation because it directly affects the success of a company's hiring practices and overall strategy.
Techstars is truly global; you'll see us continue to expand all our programs worldwide, including accelerators, our venture capital, as well as the UP Global programs including Startup Weekend, Startup Next, Startup Digest, etc.
When it comes to starting startups, in many ways, it's easier to start a hard startup than an easy startup.
Forget startup companies. The next frontier is startup countries.
Potential home buyers have a two-step decision process. First, they determine whether they can afford to make a purchase - does their income safely cover their mortgage payment? Then they determine whether owning is a better financial choice than renting - are the costs of owning a home lower than the cost of renting it?
There are too many ways that a startup gig can go sideways. If the startup won't agree to hefty severance, pass.
On Startups: "I hate it when people call themselves "entrepreneurs" when what they're really trying to do is launch a startup and then sell or go public, so they can cash in and move on.
There's this famous observation that I totally believe: Great startup ideas are the ones that lie in the intersection of the Venn diagram of 'is a good idea' and 'looks like a bad idea.' So you want most people to think it's a bad idea and thus not compete with you until you get giant. But for it to secretly be good.
If you are a new startup company, try not to arouse the interest or suspicion of your competition; especially if they are a bigger company. They can crush you while you are still in your startup phase. Lie low while still strengthening your bottom line.