Editor Profile - Denny K Miu was the Founder and former CEO of two companies, Gigamon Systems and Integrated Micromachines (now Touchdown Technologies). Denny has extensive experience in developing technology, products and business relationships. He has been a Professor, an engineer, an entrepreneur, a team leader as well as an individual contributor.
Denny is currently the Executive Editor of LoveMyTool.com, his third start-up. He can be reached at denny (dot) miu (at) gmail (dot) com.
The most common question that aspiring entrepreneurs ask, especially during time of economic downturn, is the following.
"Is this a good time to start a company?"
My experience is that there is no good answer to this question. Anytime is a good time to start a company because paradoxically, for a struggling entrepreneur, anytime is a bad time.
When the economy is doing well, everyone is doing well and as a result, there are a lot more competitions for your customers' limited resources. Similarly, when the economy is doing badly, as it is now, few entrepreneurs could afford to start companies. That's the good news. The bad news is that customers are really struggling so you must have an exceptionally compelling solution that could save them money and help them survive before they would listen.
So essentially the World conspires against an entrepreneur irrespective of the economy. Yet it has never stopped anyone from trying.
So in a sense, it would be as if you were asking, "Is this a good time to fall in love?"
And that in a nutshell is my own experience in starting companies. As an entrepreneur, it is important that we focus on making money (make money, then make meaning). But on a personal level, it is really a love affair. If you are not married, then starting a company is like your first love. But if you are already married, as I am, then starting a company is like having an affair (while remaining completely faithful).
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