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Depression: The Secret Struggle Startup Founders Won't Talk About
mattydread23 writes: In May, Cambrian Genomics CEO Austen Heinz committed suicide. The news stunned friends and family, and sparked a conversation about the growing problem of depression among startup founders. Some estimates say 30% of startup founders suffer from depression, but many are reluctant to talk about their struggle for fear of alienating investors and employees. This feature by Business Insider includes conversations with a friend of Heinz, plus many investors and other startup founders who are starting to talk about the problem and figure out how to make things better.
Financially.
Why talk about it? We're busy being optimistic. One must be very optimistic to be a startup (any business pretty much) or a farmer. The rest get 9-to-5 jobs.
The culture of Silicon Valley and California in general is to sound positive all the time and avoid the negative -- people would much rather say nothing or offer platitudes than say "no". This forms part of the problem leading to depression -- everyone is "fake" and say things for political reasons, constantly on social networking talking up their accomplishments and that of their company. Of course, most of it is smoke and mirrors. Also the tech scene can be very pretentious and it takes a lot to "keep up with the Joneses" and stay in the social circles they prize. It becomes too much for many and they become depressed and fade away, replaced at their companies by the VC board. And some willing 20-something then comes and tries to fill their shoes and the cycle repeats.
No one wants to hire a depressed person. No one wants to go on dates with a depressed person (well, at least not many people -- negative/depressed dating site profiles don't get many replies). So, they conceal it until they break with full knowledge that when they break, they'll simply be replaced or their company will simply fail.
Seriously, if you have enough cash and connections to even think about starting a company, or even doing one of these new-fangled "startups", then you're better off than 95% of the country and better of than 99% of the world.
So what? You still have a problem to deal with. Doesn't matter if you're fortunate or driven or whatever to be in the position with the skill-set to drive a startup.
In serious circles (C-level employees, attorneys, doctors, academic faculty, anyone with a security clearance) psychological treatment is still heavily stigmatized. That's dumb. Psychological treatment should just be a fact of life--someone's getting treatment, that should be fine. If it's not, you encourage them not to seek treatment, in which case you have people with *untreated* psychological problems in positions of power.
If you have any pull in your org, you should be advocating for making these things okay. Not as a top priority, but as a significant one.
Depression? Who has time for that?! I've got customers out the door, tax forms to do, end of month accounting, interviews. You'll have to schedule depression with my secretary. Mornings are kinda tight for me though.
You only know about the small percentage of startups that succeed. Most fail within a year. The failure rate is 80% within 18 months, by some estimates. Privileged? Those that succeed may have better backing, or just a better idea, and those founders usually go on to do well for themselves. But let's not forget the risks and pitfalls they had to navigate to get there.
Would you say a financially comfortable american with terminal cancer is 'better off' than 99% of the world? - Of course not. Same thing with depression, depression is not self pity, it is a mental illness that has fuck all to do with the size of your wallet. As Robin Williams demonstrated, sufferers are unable to endure living even when swimming in money.
I'm not having a go at you personally, most people who don't understand depression have your dismissive attitude. I suggest you try educating yourself on the subject because odds are you will encounter a loved one with depression at some point in your life and it's handy to know what to do after telling them to "cheer up" doesn't work.
As for TFA, I don't find it surprising that "start up" people have a high proportion of manic-depressives, the manic phase of the illness is characterized by extreme optimism.
Shameless plug for a good cause
And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
It's a sad fact of our society that more money is equated with more "happiness" or well being.
When I don't have enough people time, I get depressed. And by people time, I mean close authentic relationships in person. Our society's demand that we work all the time is making us more miserable. Try to scale back? can't because employers demand more and more of our time. So it's the nose to the grindstone or unemployment. We can't have a balanced life anymore.
We as a society are consuming more booze and drugs and it's a symptom of our shallow all work and no play fill up the hole with stuff society.
Sermon over.
This isn't just about startups, this is across U.S. society—there is zero work-life balance.
Sure, every other company proclaims how great they are WRT work-life balance, but it's pure bullshit.
During hiring (for employees) and/or funding (for startups), if you give any evidence that you will ever put anything before the company (family, health, whatever, it doesn't matter) in ANY way, or ever draw a line in the sand about hours/commitment at ANY number, you are totally noncompetitive/nonfundable (they won't use these words) and won't be hired/be funded. If there is any evidence in your CV, online persona, or history that you have ever done any of these things, you won't be hired/funded.
Even after employment/funding, you have to keep this up. Sure, you may be asked (or even pressed) to "slow down," but it's superficial. The moment you do, positive evaluations/promotions/funding dries up; there is a perception that you're "not serious," "not committed," "not a good risk," or simply "not as capable/investment-worthy" as those *other* supermen/women that work 100+ hours a week (at least) and always put work first.
Yes, they want you to take a break, take care of yourself, and balance your life. But hey, if someone else delivers more value or growth more quickly... Well, they'd be nuts not to go with them instead, and hope you stay healthy in the meantime, all the best.
So, in the interest of your self/family/relationships you try to build a career that precisely demands that in order to keep it, you destroy your self/family/relationships. Depression is easy to fall into when your life will fall apart no matter what you do.
STOP . AMERICA . NOW
His mistake was simple. He decided to be irreplaceable because he didn't think anyone could do as good a job as he could. You can't do that. That never, ever works out well for you.
Now, a startup founder is a really important person for their company, of course. However, even they need to work towards limiting their workload, at least eventually.
There's no point to building a startup if you end up dead or broken at the end of it. If you see it coming, then you need to act to fix it. If you go with the idea that you work or your startup fails, then when you break down, your startup will fail anyway. That or if you do make a successful startup, but break down because of making it successful, congratulations, you've just defined Pyrrhic victory for the startup scene. You'd probably have been better off as a wage slave at the end of it.
Some people are driven to try and succeed, and the journey can be as rewarding all by itself, even with failure at the end. But if you aren't someone who can enjoy, or at least regard the journey as a rewarding learning experience, you should not be founding a startup.
I just canâ(TM)t BELIEVE the things that have gotten funding. Who âoeinvestsâ $5M in a luxury watch site? I thought there were just a lot of bad ideas out there, but I think there are a lot of unsophisticated investors too.
This is why it's depressing being in s startup. Let's say you've got a crack team of 4 co-founders and have not only come up with a good idea but built a product round it, sure it will get better in future but it works now. Let's say you're all grown-ups and actually considered the market before embarking on this and have found that yet there is a niche and a demand. Maybe you've even managed to sell a few units and get people interested, but now need money to grow.
So you go looking for invesment (well you maybe were all along) because you've just invested 4 person years for no pay.
And first you can't get any so you decide to look around at what is getting finded. And holy Jesus Christ on a moped what the ever living fuck who the damn hell ever though it was a good idea to fund those guys? So you have a product that's useful and there's still no competition and now the 25th selfie drone company, going into an already crowed area has just raised some insane amount. As has another facebook/uber wannabe clearly doomed for failure.
And then some moron of an "angel" comes along who decides that a 500% discount rate is what he wants so that if you ever do get VC funding, not only does he own the entire company, but he owns you, your childred and your children's children, your ever living soul and your pet hamster.
Meanwhile money is getting tight and you get back to pitching. Nada. But hey, Uber is now worth more than the combined annual revenue of the entire global taxi industry and then some.
Then these guys net $2,500,000
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
And now an app which does fucking NOTHING except send the message "yo" to people with the same app installed is valued at $3.3 per user? WHAT THE FUCK? You funded that and you won't fund me? Are you mad?
And that is, I believe, why it's depressing.
SJW n. One who posts facts.