Start-ups: How freaked out are you?

We've been covering the economic crisis in depth recently (see The tech downturn: How long and how bad?). If you're a tech entrepreneur, we'd like to know how the stories of doom and gloom are affecting you. So chime in. Answer these two questions:

Just in from GigaOm: Inside Details of Sequoia Capital's Doomsday Meeting With its Companies

[kdwinnell]

The uncertainty creates... well, uncertainty. But, Brand Thunder delivers a product that allows brands to create a persistent presence with their online consumer. Cost is low to the brand, engagement is high with the end user. This should be a strong value proposition regardless of market conditions.

We'll continue to manage our own costs. And, if we do well and build our company in this environment, it should only get easier.

[Zimm2]

My concerns are not so much about the economic crisis but rather the consequences of the government intervention to the economic crisis.

[mattieboh]

My company does open source software for K-12 schools, and I'm finding that schools aren't even willing to spend a dime to save $1,000. At some point, schools have to realize that shoveling money at proprietary software companies doesn't make sense when money is so tight, so I'm going to hold on and hope, but my timeline just stretched out on the horizon.

http://www.imparisystems.com

[CydeSwype]

Our primary clients have been newspapers and they have been economically hurting for awhile, so in a way, my company is feeling pretty comfortable. We're used to talking to stressed out companies anxiously looking for ways to reduce costs and increase revenues. The biggest fear we have is that companies will see any 3rd party service as an expense and not treat them with a holistic view. If a company can take a third party service and actually do an ROI on it and realize the service is MAKING them money, then that's great. But I fear many companies (especially newer ones) won't even bother doing an ROI and will just cut services for the sake of making their budgets look good on paper.