In this episode, Shamus Madan interviews Touraj Parang, discussing Parang's startup journey, navigating recession, and venture capitalism. They delve into the significance of an early exit strategy, building strategic relationships, and the crucial role of trust. The episode concludes with valuable takeaways for startup founders. Touraj is currently the President & COO of Serve Robotics, shaping the future of sustainable, self-driving delivery. Serve designs, develops, and operates zero-emission robots that serve people in public spaces, starting with food delivery. Prior to Serve Robotics, Touraj founded Jaxtr; a startup founded back in 2005 which brought free calling and texting over the internet to mobile phones. And after a few years, it was doing quite well with over 10 million registered users and successfully raised over $20 million from top silicon valley firms. But then the 2008-2009 recession hit, and in a very short period, Jaxtr went from a valuation of tens of millions to receiving an acquisition offer for under 1 million. So today, Touraj Parang joins the show to discuss his newly released book Exit Path - How to Win The Startup End Game, published by McGraw-Hill, and how to exit as a startup successfully. Twitter of Host: @mbitpodcast Twitter of Guest: @touraj (0:00) Introduction and background of the host, Shamus Madan (1:28) Interview with Touraj Parang on his career in startups (2:20) Navigating the recession with startups and lessons learned (7:45) Touraj's experience as a venture capitalist and advice for recession times (11:17) The importance of an exit strategy from the startup's beginning (14:22) Building strategic relationships and networking in startups (17:02) Role of trust and networking in business success (20:07) Building your exit deal team and balance between leverage and relationship (21:07) Key takeaways for startup founders (22:13) Closing remarks and end of episode