The Glamorous Life of an Entrepreneur part 5 – What to do when shit hits the fan?

Feeling like the bride abandoned on her wedding day, I was mopping around the whole evening until the Lara Croft part in me took over. It was time to develop and action Plan B.

Step 1: Get emotional support
Losing a partner is just like a breakup, the good part is that you can share it not only with your girl friends but also with your guy friends. I vented out to a few close ones, and got the immediate reinforcement that I must go on because (a) I can do it and (b) the idea is really good. I figured my friends are pretty smart so I must listen to them.

Step 2: Don’t burn bridges
I wrote a nice note to my partner who is also a close friend, thanking her for her contribution and leaving the door open for her to come back. Both sides, I am certain, felt better afterwards.

Step 3: Look for alternatives
Shortly after the BB (=Big Breakup), I remembered the lesson from dating life: the best way to get over a guy is definitely not self-pity, but rather meeting another one. With this in mind, I got back to work:

• I skyped with a girl from a local start-up advertising agency that targets women customers. She said she could help with content development (the role my which partner was heavier on). I told her my story, sharing that now that I’m without a partner, payment would be difficult. I offered her partnership opportunities as our target audience was similar and she could leverage the project to access large retail clients.
• I e-mailed 2 tech+fashion sites in USA to explore for potential technology sharing options
• I wrote to my grad school to see if any motivated bright kid would be interested in doing a summer internship
• I talked to a technology guru asking him to send anyone who might be interested in partnering my way
• I spoke to a NY-based digital advertising agency, specialized in luxury, whose products might be useful in Brazil. Looking to help them while building my retail network here.

These are just some seeds I planted. Let’s see what tropical flowers I will be able to cultivate. More on this in part 6.