About mental health in start-up life
and normalizing mental health help
I. Is being a founder in a start-up harder on your mental health?
As a start-up founder, I say f%*$ yeah!
When I first thought about starting a start-up, I remember a professor asking me if I was sure. I was thinking: “Well, what’s so hard? You have a great idea, some other people are into it, and you spend your days building that idea.”
Sure, but you also face endless decisions, playing different all roles, and learning skills you never thought you had. You are no longer an expert; you become a learner. And a lot of your sense of competency is drastically reduced.
And sure enough, I am not alone. This article takes us through the stories and tips of 7 founders who tackled building a start-up and dealing with their worsening mental health.
Spoiler: Ego, Burnout, and Uncertainty have the lead roles.
II. Why does building a start-up affect your mental health?
It’s a combination of expectations, no/low wins, uncertainty, failure, and down periods. This article sums it up well.
Here are some nice graphs from the article showing the difference between a classic job and life in an early-stage startup:
III. About you.
