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Welcome to Episode 11 of The Startup Chat with Steli and Hiten.  Today they talk about some of the hardest times they’ve faced in their entrepreneurial lives.  They hope the stories they share offer you insight into knowing that we all go through tough times and it’s  important to reach out for support when those moments occur.

Hiten begins with a time in his young married life when he and his wife were living with his father.  He and a partner had spent over a million dollars of their own money in an unsuccessful business attempt.  He was devastated by the failure which brought him to tears.  The support and advice offered by his father snapped him out of his despair and provided him the emotional support he needed.  He shares another story of when a class action lawsuit filed against his business brought an intense period of stress at what should have been a happy occasion in his life.

Steli tells of a time when he had to dismiss half of his staff at once due to a big transition in his business.  He struggled with the burden of how to let the people go in a humane way.  He explains the process of how he set the stage to do that and the follow up plans he put in place. In the end, it was a dismissed employee that provided him support and made the moment a bit easier.  Steli also relates the story of having to push through a very difficult time involving the death of a close family member when he was far away from home.

Today’s Tips

Steli:  Challenges will always exist.  In these moments we can learn from each other.  It’s important to share your stories of hard times.  He invites you to do so with he and Hiten on email or Twitter.

Hiten:  If you are in the middle of a bad situation, email or tweet he and Steli.  He says they will listen to you and be there for you.  Most importantly, reach out to somebody.

Hit us up on Twitter @Steli or @hnshah, or send us an email.  

Want Steli & Hiten to record more episodes of The Startup Chat?

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