A Cool Opportunity
A couple of years ago, I was helping a friend get his business up and running. He had a solid idea and I really enjoyed helping him put together a business model.
As we were working together, we had an opportunity to apply to a program run by a well-known business incubator. We thought it was a long shot when we applied, but we were accepted.
I was pumped! I couldn’t wait to get started.
It All Came Crashing Down
At first, everything was going great. Then I watched a presentation from one of the leaders of the program, a well-known veteran in the tech world.
He was giving some great advice. But then he said something that I’ll never forget.
He said if we weren’t full-time in our startup, we weren’t really serious.
If we were still working another job, we weren’t serious.
If we weren’t spending all of our time getting our startup up and running, we weren’t serious.
As those words came out of his mouth, I felt like I was getting punched in the gut.
My buddy and I had just been classified as a lower class of entrepreneurs. We both had families to support and worked full-time jobs. He was working hard to get things up and going during his free time and I was working alongside him in a few key areas.
Yet, according to this guy, we weren’t serious entrepreneurs.
Even though I feel like I’ve been successful as an entrepreneur, those words dug in deep and stuck around in the back of my mind until last year.
Looking back, I know that moment contributed to my own self-doubt and struggle with fear, anxiety, identity, and burnout.
You Know What, I Think He’s Wrong
I was recently reading Shoe Dog by Phil Knight, the founder of Nike. It dawned on me that Knight, an incredibly successful entrepreneur, would not have been classified as a serious entrepreneur based on incubator-guy’s standard.
Knight had worked as an accountant while starting Nike. He wasn’t even the first employee at Nike!
And he isn’t alone. He is joined by other side hustlers including Steve Jobs and the founders of Etsy, Under Armour, HubSpot, Instagram, Craigslist, Slack, and many more.
As I’ve wrestled with my own doubt about being a serious entrepreneur, I eventually realized the truth - Despite his impressive list of credentials, incubator-guy was wrong. And not only was he wrong, his message was also dangerous.
He was encouraging an entrepreneurial/startup culture that says you are your business and you must put all of your time and energy into starting and growing your business.
You must be willing to sacrifice everything - money, relationships, physical health, and mental health - to create this thing. And if you aren’t willing to do that, you’ll be a failure.
Mainstream Startup Culture is Toxic
This type of toxic culture is wreaking havoc on the mental health of founders. Founders are:
- Two times more likely to suffer from depression
- Six times more likely to suffer from ADHD
- Three times more likely to suffer from substance abuse
- Ten times more likely to suffer from bipolar disorder
- Two times more likely to have psychiatric hospitalization
- Two times more likely to have suicidal thoughts
Those numbers are incredibly frightening, but I believe it doesn’t have to be that way.
Let’s Create Something Different
We must stop putting toxic startup culture on a pedestal, and instead, become champions of work-life balance. We must create supportive communities for entrepreneurs in all stages of their journey.
Every person is different and has wildly different goals and priorities for their lives. Because of this, startup businesses should look wildly different. Businesses should be built to meet a founder’s individual goals and desired lifestyle.
Please don’t hear that I’m saying hustle isn’t important. Hard work is required to get a business up and running. But the hustle I refer to is healthy and is molded to fit your lifestyle.
The hustle I’m describing is not the hustle that permeates startup culture and encourages neglect of all of the other areas of your life for the sake of business growth.
What Can You Do?
If you are an entrepreneur who feels overwhelmed and exhausted
If you are afraid and anxious about the future
If you feel like you are on the edge of burnout
Don’t listen to incubator-guy, or others like him, who question your commitment and tell you that working harder will solve your problems. It won’t, and it will likely make things worse.
Instead, try taking these steps to begin moving in a healthier direction.
- Remember that your business doesn’t define who you are.
- Take time to consider what is important to you.
- Create a community of voices who will support you and the type of business you want to create.
Seriously, Let Me Know!
If you are feeling overwhelmed, exhausted, anxious, burned out, and know you need some support as you implement these changes, reach out to me and we can work together to get you moving in a better direction.
I imagine I’m not the only one who has ever had a run-in with bad advice. What’s the worst entrepreneurial advice you have heard?
Leave a note in the comments below and let me know.