I panicked thinking my Nexus7 was broken when it wouldn’t start…

Apparently, when it’s completely discharged, it won’t start just by pressing the power button, so you can start it using the following methods:

・Hold the power button for 15 seconds

or

・Hold the power button + volume up button + volume down button simultaneously for a long time → This will force shutdown/startup

If it’s been completely discharged for a while, sometimes it won’t respond at all to the above procedures. In that case, connect it to a PC via USB and follow the same procedure to start it up.

Reference Information

・Nexus７が完全放電して起動しない時 : カンマン取締役日記

・価格.com - 『強制起動？と初期化について』 Google Nexus 7 Wi-Fiモデル 16GB のクチコミ掲示板

That’s all from the Gemba.