The only positive aspect of being in the dumps is knowing that you're not there alone! Looks like Banana Stacker's risk didn't payoff. Have you ever celebrated your competition's shortcomings? 

If you missed the last couple of episodes of our series, there is a lot to catch up on! The Taco Stacker founder's nightmares begin to take shape in real life and the company runs into a financial dead end. Follow the journey on what's been happening and follow us on twitter to see the episodes as they happen.

Episode 13

How does your start-up make the connection between your product and bringing in revenue? That seems to be the timeless question. Whether it's a simple or complicated process, it's a puzzle that all start-ups must solve.

Episode 14

One minute you're on cloud nine from receiving funding and the next minute you overdraft your bank account! If the start-up life were easy, everyone would do it, right? Looks like Taco Stacker has reached a pivotal turning point...

Episode 15

The founder of Taco Stacker wishes he were just dreaming, but it's really happening! What do you think is more important, getting in the market first or having the highest quality product? 

Episode 16

The end comes quickly when your bank account is depleted! On the bright side, at least now he can start fresh. What's next for Taco Stacker and Banana Stacker? Stay tuned...

Do you have some insight into the start-up lifestyle? Share your anecdotes, stories, and ideas using the #StartupLife hashtag on Twitter for a chance to be featured in our next Vine video. Want to scale your startup? Connect with us on Twitter @BizSpark for resources and tips on growing your business. The start-up lifestyle can be tough, BizSpark is there to make it a little easier.

Last week we discovered that the Taco Stacker journey isn't on the smoothest path. This week we see how it's impacting the founder and take a quick glance at the early days... 

Episode 11: Nightmares

The recent developments for Taco Stacker have found their way into the founder's dreams. When you start dreaming about your startup every night, work really does become 24/7!

Episode 12: Flashback

Some startups are born from complicated, laborious processes while others are a bit more spontaneous. This episode lets us know which one describes the origins of Taco Stacker!

Do you have some insight into the start-up lifestyle? Share your anecdotes, stories, and ideas using the #StartupLife hashtag on Twitter for a chance to be featured in our next Vine video. Want to scale your startup? Connect with us on Twitter @BizSpark for resources and tips on growing your business. The start-up lifestyle can be tough, BizSpark is there to make it a little easier.

We are beginning to see some interesting developments in our series! Perhaps you can relate to some of these growing pains in your own start-up journey. We're on the edge of our seats to see what happens next for Taco Stacker...

Episode 9: Unsolicited Feedback

It seems that no matter how brilliant or clear your idea is, your friends and family always seem to have a way to make it "better". What do you think; bananas or tacos?

 Episode 10: Getting Hot in Here

It's not always rainbows and sunshine in the land of start-ups. Should we make them wear the "time-out shirt" or just hug it out? In either case, the temperature is definitely rising in the Taco Stacker offices.

Do you have some insight into the start-up lifestyle? Share your anecdotes, stories, and ideas using the #StartupLife hashtag on Twitter for a chance to be featured in our next Vine video. Want to scale your startup? Connect with us on Twitter @BizSpark for resources and tips on growing your business. The start-up lifestyle can be tough, BizSpark is there to make it a little easier.

What do you do as soon as your funding hits the bank? How do you show people how excited you are about your company? This week's episodes share some possible answers to those perplexing questions.

Episode 7: Funding Then Ping Pong

There are so many things to do once your start-up's funding is secured: building, coding, hiring...buying a ping pong table. It's just as necessary as computers, right? May your coding be fast and your tournaments be long!

Episode 8: Permanent Dedication

The commitment to the company is certainly commendable! Ideas change so fast in the early start-up stages, it's best to refrain from anything too permanent for a little while. This episode was inspired by a tweet from @RyersonDMZ:

Do you have some insight into the start-up lifestyle? Share your anecdotes, stories, and ideas using the #StartupLife hashtag on Twitter for a chance to be featured in our next Vine video. Want to scale your startup? Connect with us on Twitter @BizSpark for resources and tips on growing your business. The start-up lifestyle can be tough, BizSpark is there to make it a little easier.

This week we shared out episodes 5 & 6 of our #StartupLife series. Everyone's startup journey is unique but they all tend to have one thing in common, the need for funding! Remember the time you thought crowd funding would solve all your problems or when you finally got enough money to start a new project? Hopefully these clips will help you reminisce fondly.

Episode 5: "Let the Money Roll In"

You probably felt like a rock star when you convinced everyone that crowd funding was the answer to all of your problems. You may have even felt like a superhero when you got your first dollar. Hopefully that wasn't the only dollar.

Episode 2: "In Case of Funding"

Do you already have your victory dance planned and choreographed? You've more than likely dreamt about it many times. When the glorious day of funding does arrive, take time to celebrate, but remember that's when the real work begins.

Do you have some insight into the start-up lifestyle? Share your anecdotes, stories, and ideas using the #StartupLife hashtag on Twitter for a chance to be featured in our next Vine video. Want to scale your startup? Connect with us on Twitter @BizSpark for resources and tips on growing your business. The start-up lifestyle can be tough, BizSpark is there to make it a little easier.

This week we shared out episodes 3 & 4 of our #StartupLife series. Whether it's asking everyone you know for funding or trying to stay sane with your 24/7 schedule, we're sure you can relate in some way to these start-up stories.

Episode 3: "Ebb and Flow of Productivity"

When you work around the clock to get your start-up going, you may find you get a little loopy in your downtime. This episode was inspired by @Anil_Merchant:

Episode 4: "Just Hear Me Out"

As a start-up, the question isn't "Who have I asked? but "Who haven't I asked" when it comes to funding. Parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts and uncles, distant cousins, no one is safe from a quick pitch. This post was inspired by @UrsTruelySashi:

Do you have some insight into the start-up lifestyle? Share your anecdotes, stories, and ideas using the #StartupLife hashtag on Twitter for a chance to be featured in our next Vine video. Want to scale your startup? Connect with us on Twitter @BizSpark for resources and tips on growing your business. The start-up lifestyle can be tough, BizSpark is there to make it a little easier.

Does this scene look familiar to you? You're midway through your typical start-up dinner when you remember a Skype meeting you can't be late for. The lines between work and personal life become blurred, non-existent really, when you're leading the start-up lifestyle. Fortunately, working in the start-up world has afforded you some skills that come in handy in a moment like this. Apply a little resourcefulness, sprinkle in a dash of ingenuity and...voilà! The board shorts and necktie look is born.

This is the second video in our series (check out our fist post: Real Start-ups Run on Ramen) and it was inspired by @RHolmes4 who posted the tweet below. Rich knows that as a start-up, duty calls at all hours of the day and being in your pajamas doesn't have to stop you.

Do you have some insight into the start-up lifestyle? Share your anecdotes, stories, and ideas using the #StartupLife hashtag on Twitter for a chance to be featured in our next Vine video. Want to scale your startup? Connect with us on Twitter @BizSpark for resources and tips on growing your business. The start-up lifestyle can be tough, BizSpark is there to make it a little easier.

Whether you quit your day job to run your start-up full time, spend your nights and weekends bringing an idea to life, or you're just working at a promising start-up, the start-up lifestyle is unique and can be as tough as it is rewarding. We want to help.

To connect start-up entrepreneurs and employees to the only people that understand the challenges of living the dream (other start-ups), we’re working with BizSpark to share a series of Twitter-inspired Vine videos that depict the real start-up story as told by start-ups themselves. That means that for the next several weeks we'll be listening to the #StartupLife hashtag on Twitter and showcasing some re-occurring themes that we can all take some solace in knowing we're not the only ones experiencing some growing pains. 

Real Start-ups Run on Ramen.

To kick things off, we're excited to share the first clip in our series (see above) which was inspired by tweets from @randfish and @KuraFire. They remind us that change isn't the only constant you can count on when you’re involved in a start-up; you can count on Ramen to be a staple of your diet too. 

Do you have some insight into the start-up lifestyle? Share your anecdotes, stories, and ideas using the #StartupLife hashtag on Twitter for a chance to be featured in our next Vine video. Want to scale your startup? Connect with us on Twitter @BizSpark for resources and tips on growing your business. The start-up lifestyle can be tough, BizSpark is there to make it a little easier.

To complement the Grace Hopper Celebration of women in computing and the International Women's Hackathon which kicks off on October 11th, we're highlighting stories and projects from women in technology at Microsoft. You don't have to build a a hide-and-go-seeking drone like Microsoft's Christine and Katherine did to participate, though don't let us discourage you. Here are three easy ways to participate and help inspire the next generation of women in technology.

• Turn Motivation into Creation - What good is all that inspiration if you don't put it into action? Women of all experience levels can participate in the International Women's Hackathon which kicks off October 11th. You can join a local instance of the hackathon, create your own, or tell someone with a passion for a career in tech about it. 

• Get Inspired and Return the Favor- Learn about the journey into the industry and advice for the next generation from women at Microsoft on the Microsoft Student Developer blog. If the stories remind you of someone, perhaps your own journey or someone else's, share the story and tag @MS_Student in your tweet!  

• Tune-In to Grace Hopper - The celebration is just getting started, so don't miss anymore action. You can catch the live stream of keynotes, including our own Satya Nadella along with Maria Klawe here.