Mistakes new startup founders should avoid — according to those who made them GeekWire chronicles the Pacific Northwest startup scene. Sign up for our weekly startup newsletter , and check out the GeekWire funding tracker and VC directory . This past Christmas, Chet Kittleson was in the back of a minivan watching his startup die in real time. His company, Tin Can – a reimagined home phone designed for kids – had shipped close to 100,000 units for the holidays. Then the network went down.