Your startup can survive this recession. The stock market might be crap and financiers may be pissing themselves with fear, but other entrepreneurs before you have fought through these tough times and had tremendous success. In the light of depressing powerpoint presentations on the state of the market created by some venture firms, I thought I’d highlight companies that you may have heard of that got going when the economy was hurting.*
The Late 1930’s - Europe is at war and the US economy is limping through the Great Depression
. Dave Packard and Bill Hewlett conduct some experiments in a garage in Palo Alto… and in January 1, 1939 formally launch the Hewlett-Packard Company. Yes, that’s right. The cornerstone corporation of Silicon Valley was founded during the Great Depression.
Early 1980’s - The Iranian Revolution leads to another oil shock, causing the 1979 energy cri
sis. Stagflation sets in - US unemployment rises to over 7% and the inflation rate is over 10% (actually it gets to something crazy like 13%.) The US Federal Reserve pushes the Fed Funds rate to 20% and the US economy tanks. Does technology innovation in the US stop? NO - a new dawn in computers is born during this time. Apple Computer (formed in the mid 70’s) ushers in the personal computer revolution and manages to go public in December 1980. This financing enables the company to pump up its R&D budget and accelerate the adoption of PCs.
Early 1990’s - The US is in a nasty little recession (partially caused by the savings an
d loan debacle) and Europe’s growth is also affected. In 1990 Business Objects was founded; by 1992 the company was profitable. Business Intelligence as we know it was born!
Early 2000’s - The dot.com crash destroys millionsbillions in venture investments and technology startup 
after startup flame out as their cash runs out. At the tail end of the crash LinkedIn, one of my favorite networking tools, is founded. Ok, ok, LinkedIn is no HP, but still, it’s pretty darn cool AND the company managed to snag a solid Series A venture capital round in a very difficult time period.
It’s true that many companies didn’t survive the tough times I’ve mentioned above. I don’t know how long or how difficult this recession will be, but I do know for sure that some companies started now will be major players in the future of technology in the US. Good luck, and I wish you success.
*I wasn’t a history major, so please be kind to me if I’ve messed up any particular date here. Wikipedia is my source for most of this!
