Making Do With Less Stays With You
One finding of the quarterly MoneyTree Survey on venture capital that shows that startup dollars are lasting longer (it also shows thatSoftware is the leading sector):
The average amount of time between venture capital rounds increased from 11.9 months to 15.7 months for late-stage companies, according to the quarterly MoneyTree Survey. For expansion stage companies -- where the majority of venture capital dollars flowed in the first quarter -- the average time between rounds increased by more than three months to 15.5 months.
Of course, recently, the VCs started opening up the vaults (which are still quite full), so it's likely that we may see some more crazy fundings - and this is likely to be followed up with crazy spending. For all the lessons learned about not squandering cash, many will disappear when cash is actually present.
Respectfully disagree (although Mike is usually right, he also clarifies in the below comments). If you have run a business during the last few years you have gained the Depression Era Mindset. Much like how my grandfather had to make toys out of cardboard during the depression, the experience of taught much about frugality for him and his children.
In times of scarcity, companies are pressed to invent, discover new niches and survive in darwinian fashion through a Cambrian Explosion.
The question of how so many immense changes occurred in such a short time is one that stirs scientists. Why did many fundamentally different body plans evolve so early and in such profusion? Some point to the increase in oxygen that began around 700 million years ago, providing fuel for movement and the evolution of more complex body structures. Others propose that an extinction of life just before the Cambrian opened up ecological roles, or "adaptive space," that the new forms exploited. External, ecological factors like these were undoubtedly important in creating the opportunity for the Cambrian explosion to occur.
I'm witth the latter camp. Extinction has opened up adaptive space.
But more to the point, the best companies arise out of downturn (think Apple, Microsoft, etc.). Frugality, understanding risk and smart investment decisions remain embedded in decision makers and the culture of the company. The hardest lessons stay with you.
