Computerworld ran a great article last week on what makes start-ups successful and how new companies should deal with the global economic crisis, featuring Nick Gerritsen, Sigurd Magnusson (SilverStripe),  Martyn Levy (RoamAD), Ivan Seselj (Promapp), James O’Hare (voeveo) and Miles Valentine (Zeacom).

Key points:

• Local start-ups should be open to collaboration
• Some of the largest and most significant global companies were actually established right in the middle of a depression
• Silverstripe “open sourcing its software … opened the door to the international market”
• You have to go and visit people [overseas] to make deals
• The falling NZD will be make NZ-sourced products and services more attractive
• New Zealand companies generally underestimate how much it costs to go offshore.