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Insights: Ten reasons to start a company; ten reasons not to

Today's Insights and Opinions article comes from Megan Lisa Jones, an investment banker and investor, who says: yes, it's a bubble, and gives her top ten reason to start a company, and ten reasons not to.


LinkedIn valued at over $8 billion; Facebook at over $70 billion and star of a movie. Start up conferences and competitions. Rich valuations and venture capitalists throwing money at early stage companies. So not 2009. And, as I've argued before, not 1999.

Are we seeing a bubble? Sure, we probably are. But that doesn't mean that it's either a good or bad time to start a company.

I have my biases. When funding is scarce and hope for innovation low engineers are cheaper and available. The alternative career paths aren't as bright. Smart people are willing to create opportunity because the downside is so low.

Now, with start ups hot again I'm hearing about bidding wars…for engineers and tenuous or incomplete business plans. So much money is going into social networking and other Internet or wireless consumer options but the more capital rich (technology rich; and excluding clean tech) start ups are seeing tighter money.

Ignore it all. That's my advice. (More...)


Read the rest of Megan's article, Ten reasons to start a company; ten reasons not to.