Also note that you don't have to include that failed startup on your resume if you really feel it is hurting you.
Relentlessly resourceful: doing whatever is necessary to get where/what you want. (But be a good person about it and don't step on other people.)
I had the same experience. Had been employed at X, headhunter told me to consider jobs at X-15 (this was February 2007). I got one at X+35.
Have a serious think about what you're doing at the moment, bitching at a group of entrepreneurs/tech heads about a bad job application. Think you're the only one here that's either A) Been in this position or B) Currently in this position?
Zubar's attitude certainly isn't productive: he'd get a more positive response by acknowledging that ok, the startup is dead, what can I learn from this? But it's understandable. It's often not easy to be rational in the face of multiple rejections.
As to the truism that lying on your C.V. is a very bad idea, well, it is, but so is trying to recruit excessively conformist employees. You've put yourself in a position where you can't both conform and be truthful, so decide!