How to Survive the Financial Panic: Sequoia Capital's Take

Those of us in the web 2.0 universe are eager to write history, but not the sort that's currently going down (yes, take that literally) in the financial markets. What's an early stage/high growth business to do? If you haven't yet seen the slides proliferating around the web, check out Sequoia Capital's analysis of the panic and advice to portfolio companies. Slide 49 sums it up: the VCs believe this is the time to slash expenses. Since they're often the ones funding the spending, there will likely be less cash in the pipeline for some time to come.

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Most of the companies I've been working with have been tightening their belts all year, but now is the time to get really serious about fundamentals. Be extra selective about hires. There's lots of talent on the market now, and the smartest, most creative and proactive among them can fill the shoes of two or three ordinary employees. There couldn't be a better time to add a top-notch online marketer to the team. This needs to be someone who has specifically leveraged the online medium and metrics to increase awareness, traffic, engagement, and revenue, and build a brand. Someone with a top online marketing skillset will have a bag full of low cost ways to help your business grow, just when you need it most.

Now is also the time to sharpen the focus on ROI. In the current environment, ROI must be a litmus test for any proposal that requires resources. From the executive perspective, there's never been a more important time to set clear priorities for the company and communicate them throughout the organization. Ideas, perks, pet projects, etc., that don't survive the triage exercise can't chip away at the scarce resources needed to keep the business afloat.

In the end it's about getting back to basics: know why your idea warrants the overhead of its own company, how your product(s) differ from the competition, who your audience/customers are, how you will create enough value for them that they will fund your operations with a robust revenue stream, and how to manage the company in a way that minimizes costs and maximizes profit. They're Business 101-type questions, but sometimes it takes a jolt to bring them back top-of-mind. October 2008 has provided one of Wall Street's periodic wakeup calls.

PS - Speaking of online marketing, note Sequoia Capital's use of the web 2.0 site Slideshare to distribute their information. It's just one of many sites that facilitates tapping into the networking and viral power of the web for the heavy lifting to get the word out about your company, services, brand, etc.