How can founders maintain their resiliency and avoid burnout?

The reality is that you can't. But what you can do is persevere, build grit and grow. Inevitably, these cycles will happen in a founder's journey; knowing how to handle it, being open and understanding the root of your burnout is where resilience is formed. Ultimately, your vision from day 1 will keep that light alive in you and give you the push you need to keep going. It will energize you, and it will support you during the downside. Building a team around you who can empathize and support this is also critical.

As a founder, defining your purpose is one of the most important things you will do to build an enduring company. The purpose you define for yourself is something that will become deeply embedded within the culture of your business. Your purpose will motivate your team, your investors and even your customers. A deep sense of purpose is something that people can rally behind and a lack of purpose from the founder can cause a good company to fold when faced with strong headwinds. Start with purpose and the right people will gravitate towards you in order to make the journey easier for everyone.

1) As a founder a lot of things are unstructured . Try and add structure wherever possible 2) Stay connected with people who are your cheer leaders 3) Have a hobby 4) Focus on wellness. This is most important. Yoga, meditation, strength training, walking. Move more

The combination of Purpose and Belief are critical. If you do not have these qualities like a burning flame inside of you, then don’t even start. If you have been blessed with a vision and you’ve had a calling, ideally based on your experiences (good or bad), then that is your fuel, and your belief is the oxygen that will keep that flame burning, no matter what.

As a CFO, I see defining one’s purpose as crucial to preventing entrepreneur burnout. This 'why' acts as a compass, guiding through challenges and uncertainties. It's about understanding the core value you bring – whether solving a specific problem, serving a community, or making a significant impact. Regularly reflecting on these motivations keeps focus and wards off fatigue. Remember, success in business isn't just financial; it's also about fulfilling your vision and staying true to your mission. This clarity in purpose is essential for sustained passion and resilience.

There is a HBR article with the title: Manage your energy not your time. I regularly use this as time is a finite resource, but energy if managed well can be infinite. Be aware of what gives you energy and what is taking your energy. Know how you recharge and renew your energy habitually, but also know how you sometimes escape and why you escape. To perform you need simple ways to continuously build capacity!

The more we love what we do, the more we see connections everywhere in how to bring our work to the next level. And it becomes trickier when what we do for a living intertwines with foundational aspects of who we are (cause, values, personality, etc). Therefore, we’re more prone to burnout or a never-ending FOMO that can compromise our work-life balance. There’s no universal formula to achieve work-life balance. And it’s nearly impossible to have a formula that works indefinitely. Therefore, staying conscious about our current state through a constant reality check and acknowledging that things won’t explode or disappear if we don’t pursue them right away is vital. In a nutshell, believe in the abundance of second chances.

Focus. Focus. Focus. Energy is key and limited: be clear on why your are doing what you are doing, what you want to achieve, and say ??no?? whenever it is needed (side effect: you might gain respect from that). Impact comes from focus, not energy. Energy comes from congruence. You can swim like hell in circles (and say you give blood and sweat) and still have no impact. Be ready to change the ??what??, and the ??how?? of course (not too much though). Not the ??why??. And don’t take it personally, even in hard or unfair times. Whatever happens, it is not against you - keep cold head, move on, move away, move sideways… but don’t take it personally.

Delegating tasks and outsourcing allow focus on core responsibilities. Regular breaks and vacations foster mental well-being. Incorporating exercise, meditation, a balanced diet, and sufficient sleep further boosts overall energy levels, fostering a healthier and more productive entrepreneurial journey.

As a founder, balancing daily challenges is vital. This includes incorporating routines like: - Meditation: a 10-minute session where you can disconnect from work during the day. - Physical exercise: whether it's weightlifting at the gym, engaging in zone 2 cardio activities, or taking a brisk 20-minute walk. - Reading: dedicating time to read on eye-friendly devices, especially during the evening hours. - Reducing caffeine: trying to cut down on consumption and exploring alternatives. - Diet: striving for a balanced and healthy diet while occasionally indulging in something that satisfies your taste. Gradually adopting a new habit is the key to long-term success. Remember, entrepreneurship is a marathon, not a sprint.

The most important part is to surround yourself with people who are identical in mindset as you are. That also means having a partner at home who understands your daily obligations, pressure on quality judgment, and stress level to achieve long-term success.

é muito importante construir uma rede de apoio para se manter motivado no processo do empreendedorismo. N?o confundir rede de apoio com board de investimento é um grande desafio! Mas é preciso identificar o objetivo de cada ajuda que recebe para poder encontrar as melhores respostas quando precisar. Encontrar apoio em outros fundadores e no seu próprio time de C-Levels é um bom ponto de partida. Pertencer nos trás seguran?a e trocas mais ricas sobre desafios e tomadas de decis?o.

Network is part of our job as founders. But building meaningful networks with founders alike is crucial. Don’t hang out with those different than you because comparison will never make sense. Rather look into communities with people who share your story. Learn what worked for them and what didn’t work for them. Don’t only seek for inspiration but for learnings. Someone else’s pain can be someone else’s gain if we learn to nurture and listen to new connections.

Create a personal board of trusted personal advisors that will give you tough and constructive feedback and will help you set boundaries/ will help you focus on what’s important.

Building a robust network through founder peer groups, engaging with mentors or coaches, attending events, and participating in online communities enhances your support system. Actively seek and provide feedback, advice, and resources within your community. This reciprocal relationship not only strengthens your network but also fosters a collaborative environment conducive to sustained growth and learning.

Flipping a failure that is commonly perceived as a “negative” into a “positive” is crucial for better brain health is a mental workout. Reframing a failure into a "lesson learned" or a "redirection" can help provide opportunities to utilize a growth mindset. By placing value on the journey and focusing on the process not just the outcome, founders can reframe the failure as a stepping stone to success. Lastly, practicing self-compassion and being kind to yourself is important. By understanding that failure is a part of the human experience & doesn't define your worth you can change your emotional response to failure. Take good care of yourself & be willing to learn from past “failures”- reflect, re-evaluate, and re-direct- to keep growing.

Failure that is reviewed is very useful. Conscious failing has to happen for you to succeed. The best startups have taken lessons from their failures, worked on improving consistently and opened up a space for themselves to get it right. In this regard, Reid Hoffman urges people to remain in the "state of permanent beta". Beta is a phase in product development where an early, imperfect product is tested with limited users for feedback a d continuous improvement. Gmail's beta phase lasted 5 years, which they used to identify loopholes in their user experience that might later escalate into irreversible mistakes. So it's important to take lessons from failure, and not internalize it to keep living with the problem.

As a CFO, I believe embracing failures is crucial for entrepreneurial growth. Failures are not setbacks but valuable lessons. Adopting a growth mindset transforms challenges into opportunities for improvement. Celebrating experiments and iterations fosters a culture of innovation and learning. Documenting and sharing insights ensures continuous learning and collective wisdom. Seeking feedback and advice broadens perspectives and aids in making informed decisions. Embracing failures with curiosity and humility strengthens resilience and drives success.

Celebrate experiments and iterations, recognizing each step as progress. Document insights transparently, sharing them with your team. Seek external feedback—it's invaluable. This not only cultivates a culture of continuous improvement but also positions setbacks as catalysts for future achievements.

Failures are hard to process, painful to endure and founders are likely to experience them on a regular basis throughout their journey. However, I can't think of a better teacher than my failures. Failures are inevitable but when approaching them as valuable lessons, success is guaranteed.

Regularly track and review accomplishments, reinforcing the value of progress. Reward your team for their hard work; it fuels motivation. Share success stories externally, boosting brand image. Express gratitude to customers and supporters—showing appreciation builds lasting relationships. This not only marks achievements but also creates momentum for future endeavors.

As a founder, it is your job to keep your team's morale up during tough times. Try to be grateful and do compliment/celebrate small successes during these times. From my experience, even a single 'great job' does means a lot.

This is such an underrated practice as we are all too focused on pushing ahead! We just invited our clients to look at their achievements for the past year. It was incredible what they found out and the best thing is it changed their energy to then start to plan for 2024! I would say that this is an essential thing to do every week to keep your focus and energy high!

A key marker for burnout is losing the passion for things you love! Make sure you are finding the time each week to invest even just 10 minutes to keep hold of WHO YOU ARE and not fall into a job title or role

Don't get stuck in routines; they can help greatly but you have to stay flexible and nimble as a startup founder. Don't be afraid to travel and get out of your comfort zone.

Do something daily that makes you happy, plan for something interesting once a week, set time aside for fun once a month and an exciting adventure every season, and schedule a huge i-look-forward to activity to schedule yearly.

I think what kills teams not just the founders is this combination No breaks + No breakthroughs If you’re constantly pushing and don’t reach any resolution then it can be demoralizing to you and perhaps more so your team I understand that sometimes you feel it coming and can’t stop auntie you actually reach what you were chasing all along But sometimes a pause or break can help you reach further If you’re doing well and having a ton of breakthroughs by all means continue But if you aren’t feel free to change your pace and or change your strategy

Regular exercise significantly helps and is a strategy for all high achievers I’ve met. Healthy eating is another, especially consumption of unprocessed foods. The fuel put into the body has a direct impact on brain function amd resilience. Meditation would be my third suggestion and it doesn’t have to be long. Even 15 mins can be effective and I highly recommend time spent connecting to your heart and asking what it wants, what it’s feeling and feeling gratitude radiating out from it to everything and everyone. If I have a stuck project or problem I’ve found radiating gratitude from the heart to it manifests a solution, sometimes even a miracle.

Don’t take yourself seriously. Mistakes will happen all the time and if you take it personally you will quickly get depressed. I try to not measure success by how many times I’m right, but by how fast I can keep moving.

Smart Delegation Delegating tasks to skilled and experienced professionals will give you space for clarity and insightful thinking for better decision making, and will help avoiding burnouts in the everyday operational hustle. Keep focusing on your goals and visions.

Founders can maintain resiliency and avoid burnout by setting realistic goals and boundaries, delegating tasks, and embracing a supportive network. Regular breaks, mindfulness practices, and maintaining hobbies outside of work can significantly reduce stress. It's also vital to recognize early signs of burnout and seek professional help if needed. Remember, sustaining a healthy work-life balance isn't just good personal practice; it's a smart business strategy, ensuring long-term productivity and innovation.