1 - Knowing what you know now, is there anything you would have done differently?
2 - After you turn off the lights and walk out, what happens next? Have you managed to bounce back? I would imagine that the skills that enabled you to run a startup (even an unsuccessful one) would be highly in demand.
1 - Absolutely, there is a huge list of things I would have done differently - and there's a huge list of failure modes I now know how to look for. The most obvious thing: I would never again borrow money personally to invest in a failing business, that was just unspeakably arrogant and stupid. But there are also a lot of operational and technical details that I would never screw up like this again.
2 - I took a job pretty much immediately. I consolidated my debt into a more manageable package, I'm still paying it off though (it's really huge). The alternative would have been declaring personal bankruptcy, which in hindsight might have been a much better move, but at least I am taking responsibility this way.
I did bounce back in a sense that my life is in order and I'm financially sound again. I have a good job (yes, my crisis management experience paid off), I travel a lot on business, I have a nice car. But it's not the same as succeeding with your own company. On the other hand, my job has taught me several key things I should have known when I did the startup, so I'm really thankful for the opportunities I got.
I'm pretty sure I'll try this again, in a safer and saner environment. It will definitely involve less dreams and more math.
1 - Knowing what you know now, is there anything you would have done differently?
2 - After you turn off the lights and walk out, what happens next? Have you managed to bounce back? I would imagine that the skills that enabled you to run a startup (even an unsuccessful one) would be highly in demand.