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Should Kids Follow in Our Founder Footsteps?
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Assume Everyone Will Leave in Year One
Stop Listening to Investors
Was Mortgaging My Life Worth it?
What's My Startup Worth in an Acquisition?
When Our Ambition is Our Enemy
Are Startups in a "Silent Recession"?
The 5 Types of Startup Funding
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Do Founders Deserve Their Profit?
Michelle Glauser on Diversity and Inclusion
The Utter STUPIDITY of "Risking it All"
Committees Are Where Progress Goes to Die
More Money (Really Means) More Problems
Why Most Founders Don't Get Rich
Investors will be Obsolete
Why is a Founder so Hard to Replace?
We Can't Grow by Saying "No"
Do People Really Want Me to Succeed?
Is the Problem the Player or the Coach?
Will Investors Bail Me Out?
The Value of Actually Getting Paid
Why do Founders Suck at Asking for Help?
Wait a Minute before Giving Away Equity
You Only Think You Work Hard
SMALL is the New Big — Embracing Efficiency in the Age of AI
The 9 Best Growth Agencies for Startups
This is BOOTSTRAPPED — 3 Strategies to Build Your Startup Without Funding
Never Share Your Net Worth
A Steady Hand in the Middle of the Storm
Risk it All vs Steady Paycheck
How About a Startup that Just Makes Money?
How to Recruit a Rockstar Advisor
Why Having Zero Experience is a Huge Asset
My Competitor Got Funded — Am I Screwed?
The Hidden Treasure of Failed Startups
If It Makes Money, It Makes Sense
Why do VCs Keep Giving Failed Founders Money?
$10K Per Month isn't Just Revenue — It's Life Support
The Ridiculous Spectrum of Investor Feedback
Startup CEOs Aren't Really CEOs
Series A, B, C, D, and E Funding: How It Works
Best Pitch Decks Ever: The Most Successful Fundraising Pitches You Need to Know
When to Raise Funds
Why Aren't Investors Responding to Me?
Should I Regret Not Raising Capital?
Unemployment Cases — Why I LOOOOOVE To Win Them So Much.
How Much to Pay Yourself
Heat-Seeking Missile: WePay’s Journey to Product-Market Fit — Interview with Rich Aberman, Co-Founder of Wepay
The R&D technique for startups: Rip off & Duplicate
Why Some Startups Win.
Chapter #1: First Steps To Validate Your Business Idea
Product Users, Not Ideas, Will Determine Your Startup’s Fate
Drop Your Free Tier
Your Advisors Are Probably Wrong
Growth Isn't Always Good
How to Shut Down Gracefully
How Does My Startup Get Acquired?
Can Entrepreneurship Be Taught?
How to Pick the Wrong Co-Founder
Staying Small While Going Big
Investors are NOT on Our Side of the Table
Who am I Really Competing Against?
Why Can't Founders Replace Themselves?
Actually, We Have Plenty of Time
Quitting vs Letting Go
How Startups Actually Get Bought
What if I'm Building the Wrong Product?
Are Founders Driven by Fear or Greed?
Why I'm Either Working or Feeling Guilty
Startup Financial Assumptions
Why Every Kid Should be a Startup Founder
We Only Have to be Right Once
If a Startup Sinks, Founders Go Down With it
Founder Success: We Need a Strict Definition of Personal Success
Is Quiet Quitting a Problem at Startup Companies?
Founder Exits are Hard Work and Good Fortune, Not "Good Luck"
Finalizing Startup Projections
All Founders are Beloved In Good Times
Our Startup Culture of Entitlement
The Bullshit Case for Raising Capital
How do We Manage Our Founder Flaws?
What If my plan for retirement is "never retire"?
Startup Failure is just One Chapter in Founder Life
6 Similarities between Startup Founders and Pro Athletes
All Founders Make Bad Decisions — and That's OK
Startup Board Negotiations: How do I tell the board I need a new deal?
Founder Sacrifice — At What Point Have I Gone Too Far?
Youth Entrepreneurship: Can Middle Schoolers be Founders?
Living the Founder Legend Isn't so Fun
Why Do VC Funded Startups Love "Fake Growth?"
How Should I Share My Wealth with Family?
How Many Deaths Can a Startup Survive?
This is Probably Your Last Success
Why Do We Still Have Full-Time Employees?
The Case Against Full Transparency
Should I Feel Guilty for Failing?
Always Take Money off the Table
Founder Impostor Syndrome Never Goes Away

How a Founder should Communicate in Crisis

Wil Schroter

How a Founder should Communicate in Crisis

Founders are rarely prepared for how to handle a legit crisis, like when the whole world turns upside down overnight.

I lived through 9/11 with 700 employees, raised multiple funding rounds in the middle of the 2007 Financial Crisis, and just for "funsies" oversaw the overnight shutdown of a startup with 450 people.

So yeah, I have some experience here.

What I've learned is when crisis hits, a solid approach to communication is one of the single most effective tools we can employ.

Cut the Bullshit

In times of crisis, no one wants to hear the sugar-coated version of where things stand.

"Hey Team, I know half of you have turned into flesh-eating Zombies, but the good news is there's way more La Croix for those of you who have survived!"

Now is the time to cut to the chase. Imagine that every person reading your email, or listening to your conference call, is going to assume every word you're saying may be bullshit. Drop some hard facts. We need to set a tone of transparency so that our communications are well-received and effective.

Open up Direct Lines to the Top

This isn't a time for management by organization charts. The entire company is freaking out and people want to know they can get direct access to answers.
When we bought Zirtual.com during its shutdown, I sent a message to 450 employees that basically said,

"Don't ask around. Ask me. Here's my email, here's my phone number. There's no reason to wonder what's going on." (Incidentally I got hundreds of emails which is exactly what was needed).

When a crisis hits, the worst thing we can do is bottle up communications. Instead, we need to go on the offensive and make sure that everyone in the org has complete access to answers, even if they aren't the answers everyone wants to hear.

Rally on a Focal Point

In times of crisis, assume that 90% of our attention is on anything but getting stuff done. Our staff is heads down in Slack chats, social media, or stressed out texting with spouses. The things that are eating up the most attention aren't likely to be synonymous with the things that really need our focus.

Our job is to rally that anxiety and attention toward a single focal point that has the highest and best probability to get us out of crisis.

"Right now we need everyone to focus on ONE thing — keeping our Top 10 clients on board. If we can do that, everything becomes totally manageable."

By rallying to a single point, it gives everyone in the org a collective call to arms which is an incredibly powerful force, and a huge asset to the company.

Shoot Everything Straight

Decades ago, communicating inside a company used to be about "spin" and "polish" — those days are largely behind us. What Founders need now is authenticity, transparency, and a very clear way forward.

Anyone want to tell our elected officials that?

In Case You Missed It

What Problems Go Away With Time? (podcast) Running a Startup can be chaotic. But is it true that problems will go away with time? Some do, some don't. Learn how and when to align your expectations for the unexpected.

My Startup Stalled — Now What? If our startup has stalled, that doesn't mean we’ve given up on it, it just means we have to figure out where it best fits in our lives.

When Should My Side Hustle Be Full Time? Now that we're getting some traction on our side hustle, the real question is, when do we go all in?

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