The Founders Aren’t OK!
The Founders Aren’t OK!?
By Elio Harmon?
It’s 2am on a Friday and I can’t sleep. My mind is racing, familial issues are arising on all sides because I am consumed by work. Always working or thinking about work, I am losing my ability to focus on a single task and concentrate for long periods of time. I am having a harder time remembering things. My body is present but my mind is somewhere else. It feels like I have no time for the simple things. Everything glitters around me but I haven’t been this unhappy in a while.?
A month ago, if you asked me how I was doing I would have said, “Great!” This is while I am trying to figure out if you see the bottom eyelid of my left eye twitching due to my poor sleep habits and excessive social media use. Raad Ahmed captures my dilemma perfectly when he writes, “Founders are incentivized to project an image of confidence and security. Succeeding as a startup means getting the world — investors, customers, competitors, etc. — to believe in you and your idea. Being frank about your insecurities and weaknesses seems counter to that purpose. Whether or not they admit it publicly, behind the scenes, most founders deal with depression.”
Raad uses the word depression. Although depression seems to be less stigmatized, I am not self-diagnosing or attempting to diagnose other founders but simply serving as the canary in what may turn out to be one of the largest coal mines of the future, Columbus, Ohio. But unlike coal mines where canaries warned of physical dangers, the greatest threat to founders are mental and emotional. As I soul searched to find the cause and possibly the solution to my current state of mind, I came to the following conclusion and would like to share them with you.?
领英推荐
Fortunately, I have been able to recalibrate and begin the journey of covering the Columbus startup ecosystem in the most authentic way I know how. We will cover topics ranging from startup news, evaluating startup ideas, raising capital, and how to use technology to solve problems. I look forward to seeing you on the road less traveled.?
Signed, your favorite canary.?
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Building businesses to alleviate human suffering
2 年This definitely resonates. It’s been the toughest 3 months I’ve ever experienced as a Founder.
Technology to Help People Accomplish
2 年The truth of this is both very real and non-obvious until you experience it first-hand.?The end-of-year holidays are particularly difficult, both because it's hard to make progress when businesses are punting projects into next year, and less obviously, because you likely spend a lot more time with non-entrepreneur friends and family during the holidays.?That can actually amplify the negative emotions because these people have very different relationships with risk.?Spending time with people that care about you who can't really understand some or most of what you're doing, at a natural retrospective moment for your prior year, can be... difficult. I actually started an "Independent Founders' Monthly Sprint Retrospective" a few months ago with a couple of people who are also trying to build tech businesses on their own.?This is a forum to share our plans and problems with people who really understand, and with whom you can be unfiltered about what's not working and our concerns. I couldn't agree more: progress, but maybe more importantly, survival in this space (survival of your vision and motivation as much as your self), is fundamentally about relationships and tribes. Thanks for posting, and best 2023 wishes to you, Elio!
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