Lucas Rayala:
And I'm closing down my startup.
I need to go for a run. I need to clean up my desktop and emails. I need to hire a tax attorney to straighten the jumble of receipts and ticket sales, so the government understands that Altsie was definitely a net loss.
I need to send my last checks to my last distributors and thank them for their trust. I need to throw a party and tell my friends I appreciate their support. I need to find my friends again and thank them for sticking by me. I need to call my filmmakers and thank them for taking a chance with me. I need to take my wife to dinner and thank her for her love.
This is what you do when you close down your business on a Thursday night.
Speaking from personal experience, the end of a startup is tough. It's not just the mechanical act of winding a company down. Throwing away your dreams is painful. For some, if they really invested everything into that one venture, and have nothing left to take the next swing, then it can be the end of the road.
However, I really do believe that entrepreneurship is a career, not a one-shot thing. If you play your cards right and don't throw everything at your first idea (especially since it's very likely not to work out), you can just keep taking swings at it until you get it.
And, with businesses as with many other things in life, there's no better cure for a heart-broken ending than a fresh beginning.
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