Similarly, Tim Westergren, founder of Pandora Radio, persisted with his startup long after others might have called it quits, in large part because he could not face the idea of losing the money invested by his cofounders’ friends or reneging on the $1 million in salary deferrals the company owed its employees, most of them personal friends of the founders. As Tim explained, “I’ve brought everyone into it and can’t turn back. My persistence might look like a virtue, but I have to put myself through this because of all the people I’ve involved who I have ties to.” Indeed, objective observers
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