Hello. I have both been sued by a startup and defended myself pro-se (in a different criminal case). I was paid a small sum to do some work, which I did. I delivered the work to contract, but when I did not want to do the additional work involved with actually setting all their stuff up and getting everything deployed, they sued. I didn't have the time or money to deal with it, so I ignored it all, they ended up getting a default judgement against me for double what I was originally paid. I just figured I wouldn't pay them, but they were lawyers so they got my wages garnished (25% of each paycheck). Paid my last part of the garnishment last week.

Don't worry about going pro se from a procedural standpoint - judges are quite accommodating (and frankly, amused) by those of us who choose to represent themselves. I did an exhaustive amount of research prior to trial, and the district attorneys were grossly under-prepared for the case, so I was able to easily put them to shame. Put time into your opening, closing, and preparing your witnesses (including yourself). Watch a few episodes of Law and Order. It actually ends up being a pretty awesome story, whichever way it turns out.

The whole situation is terrible, I've been there. Whatever happens, just know that it's all not a huge deal however it turns out. My current employer didn't have any issues with the suit or with the garnishment, it was fortunate that they gave me the chance to explain myself.

Let me know if you have any questions about anything, b@pan.sx, happy to discuss.