ANGEL: FirstMark’s Rick Heitzmann on shaking off the bull run, “shock absorbers,” and more—

Watch the full “This Week in Startups” episode here

“[My best advice for founders in the downturn right now is] if you can control financing risk, and if you can control your path to cash flow break-even, don’t do anything to f*ck that up.

That is your most important function as a CEO—being able to be default alive and being able to get from here to there with the cash you have.

Don’t speculate on when a market window might open or when financing might turn back on if you believe you have a path to cash flow break-even.

And when you do have that path to cash flow break-even, you become much more attractive to everybody because then people know there’s at least a floor for what’s going to happen to this business and therefore you’re investing for growth.

So while it might be counterintuitive to founders, getting to cash flow break-even in this market might be the number one thing that would make you more attractive to get capital.”