By Peter Kafka
Recode
Mic raised more than $60 million to build a millennial-focused news company but couldn’t find a business model to support its costs, which include a one-floor office in Manhattan’s World Trade Center (an earlier version of this story incorrectly reported the size of Mic’s office).
(THL) A lesson in this for entrepreneurs and startups. Keep your startup lean. Don't waste a penny on the trappings of success. Don't you dare go out and lease a Lexus your first big year.
Stay conservative in your hiring decisions. Keep your team small and mighty. Pick fewer employees who you can be responsible for and who will be responsible for you.
Instead of a shiny, new office, it's better to have an affordable one and the extra cash to fight another day. Cash is King. When you run out of cash it's Game Over.
Better to have a tiny, solid ball of steel and grow it slowly, than a ball the size of the Earth, if it's only a bubble after all.
Mic paid me to write a few articles for it when the company first got started back in 2013 (when it was still named PolicyMic). Sorry it didn't work out for everybody. That's a tough lesson to learn the hard way. Good luck, everybody. You'll land on your feet.
Recode
Mic raised more than $60 million to build a millennial-focused news company but couldn’t find a business model to support its costs, which include a one-floor office in Manhattan’s World Trade Center (an earlier version of this story incorrectly reported the size of Mic’s office).
Read more at Recode.
(THL) A lesson in this for entrepreneurs and startups. Keep your startup lean. Don't waste a penny on the trappings of success. Don't you dare go out and lease a Lexus your first big year.
Stay conservative in your hiring decisions. Keep your team small and mighty. Pick fewer employees who you can be responsible for and who will be responsible for you.
Instead of a shiny, new office, it's better to have an affordable one and the extra cash to fight another day. Cash is King. When you run out of cash it's Game Over.
Better to have a tiny, solid ball of steel and grow it slowly, than a ball the size of the Earth, if it's only a bubble after all.
Mic paid me to write a few articles for it when the company first got started back in 2013 (when it was still named PolicyMic). Sorry it didn't work out for everybody. That's a tough lesson to learn the hard way. Good luck, everybody. You'll land on your feet.
