I agree with Igor's starting procedure, with two possible variations. First some saws (including an old Partner R14 I used to like very much) have a half choke click-position. After the burp these saws will have to be restarted on half choke, then open it the rest of the way when you can (after about half a minute to one minute, for the R14). Second, some saws take quite a bit more than 20-30 seconds before they will idle - perhaps a minute or even two minutes.
And that tiny Sachs Dolmar, plus an awful locally-made Atom, were the only ones I've had that were just a pain in the backside, rather than needing a special technique. The Sachs had the redeeming virtue of singing a beautiful song at full throttle once it warmed up. The Atom had no redeeming features at all.
