When you’re being chased by a bear, you don’t have to outrun the bear. You just have to outrun your friends. So quipped Gilman Louie, a well-known video game geek and veteran venture capitalist, at a recent Bay Area Capital Connections conference covered by Venturebeat.
Today Louie is a partner at the Alsop Louie venture capital fund. He assured young entrepreneurs at the conference that despite the carnage in capital markets, this might actually be a good time to be an entrepreneur. For one, rivals will “evaporate” in a tough economy, so you’ll face less competitive pressure. If you do manage to get venture capital funds, you can be darn sure the VCs think your idea has legs, because they can’t afford to fund “me-too” companies in this economic climate. It’s also a great time to grab some of the financial talent that’s available from the pool of financial professionals looking for private equity and venture capital jobs. Besides, if you start building your company today, chances are it’s going to be 24 months before you’re ready to go to market. By then, the economy might just be recovering and you’ll be poised to take advantage of the upturn.
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