Nov 6th, 2008 |
Yesterday, the team kicked off Web 2.0 Summit, Expo’s executive companion event. So far, awfully impressive. I’ll try to provide what tidbits I can between meetings and production duties over the next couple of days. First off, John Doerr just offered a great list: 10 things a start up should do in the economy:
Act now – get a loan or secure more. Make cuts if you need to.
Protect the vital core of business – do not take a meat axe to your core. Cut once and be done with it.
Make sure you have 18 months worth of cash and know where you stand
Defer facilities expansion or new tech/software infrastructure
Review R&D
Renegotiate all contracts you have
Everyone ought to be selling – even the receptionist
Pay in equity bonus not cash bonuses
Put money in security backed loans
Figure out what the leading indicators are and listen to them so you can react quickly
Over communicate. Do not sugar coat where you are.
Great advice for start-ups and established businesses alike. More soon.
Jennifer, I’d suggest one more key item for John’s, and everyone else’s, list of things to do — out-task any activity that’s not a core competency, or has little or no strategic benefit.
IT and Network managed services are being applied in lots of creative ways. Meanwhile, companies that take this approach can be sure that their human talent is focused on the most rewarding tasks at hand.