John Doerr on starting up
I found this amazing article on John Doerr's advice for a start-up and read through the whole thing before I asked "wow! is this in the most recent issue?"
Turns out it is from 1997.
Just goes to show that the best advice is timeless.
I thought this was a particularly true, and revealing, comment on what makes America's entrepreneurial complex great:
A San Jose State survey found that across the nation, 4 of 5 new businesses fail. But, when backed by professional venture capital within 20 miles of this office, 4 of 5 new ventures succeed. Think of Silicon Valley as an incredibly effective system for getting people, projects and capital together. You can change your job without changing where you park your car.Later this morning I have a meeting to wind up a failed venture. Investors put $15 million in four rounds. We're writing off our investment. There were 40 employees. Other companies in our portfolio have already offered jobs to over half the team. The investors are circulating resumes to help all of the employees get great jobs. As long as you work hard with the team and don't lie, the venture industry doesn't penalize failure.
