Israeli electric car startup Better Place ate through $900M in funding and died. In his coverage, Max Chafkin writes this gem:
This is very true, and startups die every other day of some form of this. The money comes tomorrow only when you perform. Even if it's easy now, it won't be easy forever.Entrepreneurs are frequently told not to drink their own Kool-Aid--which is to say, to remember that the stories they tell about how their products will save humanity are just that.
Privately, they are cautioned to focus on the small things; to make more money than they lose; to cut costs when needed; and, when necessary, to pivot to a more promising business. The caution seems especially important in a culture that increasingly celebrates startups, threatening to confuse their mythmaking with reality.