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Fortune

Anne Sraders

Twilio CEO’s top advice to founders during the downturn: ‘Follow your customer’

Jeff Lawson Scott Farquhar Atlassian

A man in a black polo and jeans gestures forward while sitting onstage. (Credit: Photograph by Stuart Isett/Fortune)

Founders are navigating a tricky market: Funding levels are way down, VCs are growing more selective, and the economy is struggling to find its footing.

But Twilio cofounder and CEO Jeff Lawson and Atlassian cofounder and co-CEO Scott Farquhar have seen it all before. Both CEOs started their companies in a downturn: Farquhar cofounded Atlassian during the dotcom crash in the early 2000s, while Lawson started Twilio in 2008 amid the financial crisis. But for founders going through this downturn, Lawson and Farquhar have some key advice.

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