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.

Comments

Re:LOL

[jeffmflanagan]

>Financially.

Correct. Clinical depression does not give a crap about how much money you have in the bank, though not having to worry about being homeless is a plus.

Quite understandable.

[140Mandak262Jamuna]

These people bet their lives on a very risky venture. They must have higher than normal anxiety. It is only natural. Most of the startups fail. A few succeed spectacularly and a few more give non trivial returns. But majority of them face the prospect of closing shop and getting into the daily grind, but five or ten years behind their batch mates. It would be depressing.

Also 7% being depressed in general population is definitely an underestimate. Till Obamacare came along some 40 million Americans had no access to healthcare. (Now that number is believed to be 25 million). Among the rest mental health screening is not covered for most of the lower end plans. Further given the taboo associated with mental illness even those with access do not get checked for depression. It is possible I myself would be diagnosed with depression, if I give the shrinks half a chance. Tech founders typically have enough resources to make it to college. They would get tested more than general population.

I think depression is more prevalent than assumed. And logically there are lots of reasons why most people, young ones more than others, should be depressed.

Bad science?

[Demonoid-Penguin]

What percentage of people who begin startups have a history of depression?

I know that some years ago a doctor quizzed me about depression.

• GP "Do you ever get depressed?"

• Me "Well... yes, sometimes" "Isn't that normal?"

  GP "It's not healthy" "Do you ever feel sad about events outside of your control?"

  Me "For instance?"

  GP. "Do events in other countries ever make you feel sad?"

  Me "Yes" "Seems normal to me that knowing other people are suffering doesn't make me happy"

The GP then tried to prescribe me Xanax - which just made me feel depressed (no - I never took Xanax). So I have a history of depression (there's more than that incident - I do have "black days" where I want to stay in bed and avoid the world). Whether that's serious or normal doesn't change the fact that I've started a number of successful new businesses, and as part of the process I've often neglected my diet, been extremely stressed, and suffered from extreme lack of sleep. Others with similar business history report the same thing - periods of optimism, energy and the feeling that the brain (and the mouth) are at their optimum, followed by periods when I get words wrong, struggle to get out of bed, feel mentally sluggish, and have difficulty believing things will "go well".
Clearly I haven't committed suicide, but was it the startups that caused the "depression" - or the "side-effects" of "depression" ("extreme" optimism and "energy") that "impelled" the desire to startup a new business venture?

My "suspicion" is that starting any new business involves mixed emotions. Losses loom larger than gains - and despite initial optimism there will always be periods of doubt. It kind of balances out, no ups without downs.

Anything new involves risks - and to many the risks appear larger as the involvement shifts from dipping your toes to taking a plunge. Terms like "bi-polar" and "manic" get bandied about when describing people who are successful at taking risks but I've seen little to show that's a result of starting a new/novel venture. Perhaps I'm too depressed to look in the right places?

Note: after the first couple of experiences the process is much easier to deal with as you can look back on previous occasions when it felt like the sun would never shine again - and know that good things, while often hard to imagine - are just as likely outcomes as the bad things that are much easier to imagine. That seems normal to me.

Fallacy

[Taco Cowboy]

Privilege white people committing suicide? I'm playing my smallest violin in sympathy

1. Not all startup founders are 'white people' and not all of them are 'privileged' either

2. Most of the startup founders do not commit suicide

3. Stress level for startup founders - no matter what kind of startup - is high, but this is natural, as the journey of starting up a new company (in any industry) is a rocky road filled with a mix of excitement / trepidation / frustration

As for the percentage of the excitement versus that of trepidation versus that of frustration largely depends on

A. The regional / global industrial environment in which the startup is involved with

B. The structure of the startup

C. The corporate culture of the startup, ie, the attitude of the close-knit of people working in the startup

D. The personality type of the founder himself or herself

I personally have involved in quite a number of startups and every single one has their own perculiar 'pain of labor' - and for each of the 'pain of labor', if the founder sees it as a 'challenge' it would be tackled with zeal. However, if the same 'pain of labor' is seen as 'trouble' then the thing could become a protracted problem for the company

The above is based on my own experience

YMMV

Re:Unhealthy society. Not just in business or tech

[Bite The Pillow]

I have experience since 2002 with 4 different Fortune 150 or less businesses, and not once seen anything like this.

I *have* seen people saying "I'm too busy" and working exactly 40 hours, but you can't justify hiring more people when you are getting 90% of the work done in 40 hours. Maybe if you have more than 10 people to cover a single role, but even large companies tend towards smaller teams, perhaps with more managers than are necessary. So you generally don't have enough work to justify a new hire.

I also know people who worked at other Fortune 500 or less companies, at least 10 with enough detail to be sure that they have not seen anything like what you describe.

I'm not saying you're wrong, but I do think you're in the wrong job market if you think this is bullshit.

Someone else delivers more value or growth, that's a problem with either your skill set or their desire to burn out. And I would not want to hire someone who looks like they will be a burnout in 5 years.

Go job hunting now, and get out of whatever network you are in, because you sound trapped by your own ignorance.