These series of guest posts are written by the teams attending the Tetuan Valley Startup School 2011 Fall edition. This post is from the Mashpan team formed by Liad Rubin, Zubin Chagpar, and Geoff Gibson.

Not by a long shot but what do you do when you hit the wall? The expression is used to indicate a moment where you feel like you can’t go on any longer. That you have had enough. Ironically, we are writing this post when our start-up is on a high. Fresh off of winning IE Business School’s, one of the elite MBA granting schools in the world, venture competition. We were right back at it making Mashpan a reality the next day. Which brings us back to hitting the wall? Knowing that at some we may be in a situation that is difficult, how do you handle it?

Since we haven’t hit a point of difficulty yet it is hard to prescribe a way to be prepared. However, some general thoughts to avoid hitting the wall or getting up afterwards are:

• Brace for reality: The reality is that doing a start-up is not easy and there will be moments where it does feel like the sky is falling. Knowing that there will be difficult times can help deal with this inevitability.
• Infuse fun into your DNA: After all, the option to work a regular job is there. We decided to do a start-up for many reasons. Why not remind yourself that you are doing this because you like it.
• Seek advice: Usually the problem you are experiencing will have been seen in some form by someone else. Seek counsel on how to get over the situation and continue moving towards your goal.
• Play Mario Kart: If times to get rough get away from the situation at least for a couple of
  hours. Mario Kart, running, grabbing a burger. This is not problem avoidance. Instead it is a way to get perspective on the issues. Nothing is the end of the world except… well the end of the world.

We have been at it for six months now. Not a part-time endeavor and we have been balancing full-time school work with the service we are creating. Many late nights, many long sessions of coding, or business plan writing, pitch deck refining and practicing in front of a mirror. Yet we feel good. Confident that we can make Mashpan happen… wall or no wall. Check us out @mashpan and www.facebook.com/mashpan and be sure to sign up to get a future sneak peak at www.mashpan.com.