Starting a Business Looks Drastically Different in 2024

🌈 Abstract

The article discusses the author's experiences and insights gained from founding and advising startups over the past 25 years. It highlights the significant shifts in the startup landscape, particularly in the last 12-18 months, and the challenges faced by innovative founders in the current environment.

🙋 Q&A

[01] Startup Experiences and Insights

1. What are the author's experiences with startups?

• The author has founded and built startups over a dozen times, both with their own funding and with venture capital.
• The author has had both successful multi-million-dollar exits and failures.
• The author has also advised dozens of other startups, many of which have gone on to exit successfully.

2. What has the author learned from these experiences?

• The author has been writing about what they have learned firsthand from founding, building, and growing startups, rather than relying on what they have read or been told.
• The author notes that the way startups get funded, built, and grown has shifted dramatically in the last 12-18 months, and there are new dynamics that need to be figured out.

[02] Shifts in the Startup Landscape

1. What are the key shifts in the startup landscape that the author has observed?

• The general public has become disillusioned with advancements in technology, leading to a loss of consumer trust.
• The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has been accompanied by hucksters and profiteers, leading to a collapse in the workforce as people became disinterested in corporate jobs.
• Corporate America has responded by using remote work and AI to cut costs, leading to a loss of talent and innovation.
• Venture capital and public company money has been sunk into "non-genius" applications of AI, leading to the destruction of promising startups and products.

2. How have these shifts impacted the startup ecosystem?

• The lack of fuel for innovation, due to disinterest in tech, over-reliance on AI, and cost-cutting measures, means that startups are struggling to survive and grow.
• The author suggests that truly innovative founders will need to find alternative approaches to funding, building, and growing their businesses in the current environment.