Founding a startup is undeniably stressful – it comes with a lot of uncertainty and pressure. How do you handle setbacks and challenges? And how do you build resilience to navigate the difficulties that come with the journey?
I’ve never been a big video gamer, but in a way, building a startup can feel like an obsessive game. You might work on it at 3:00 a.m. because you’re driven to “beat the level,” so to speak. It’s not always fun – you might throw your controller (figuratively) and curse at the screen – but you can’t stop. That obsession can lead to those infamous 80- or 100-hour weeks. Sometimes it’s survival mode, sometimes it’s excitement. Maybe both at the same time!
However, that same obsession can become unhealthy if you’re not careful. You risk burning out when you push too hard for too long. It happened to me more than once – I’d go at full speed and then suddenly crash, with my productivity dropping to almost nothing. Over time, I learned to gauge when I needed to slow down and give myself breaks, so I could keep going in a more sustainable way.
I also started without much of a personal support network, living in a new country, 9-time zones away from my old friends and family. That meant fewer distractions, but also fewer people around to recharge with. So, physical activity became my go-to stress relief. Back in Vancouver, I played beach volleyball; I kept that up in Germany whenever possible. It’s a complete change of environment – fresh air, sand, and something totally different from writing code. Whatever your activity is, if you stop making time for it, you’ll hit that wall much faster and harder.
Lucky you ended up in Freiburg again because there’s a big beach volleyball community here.
I know! I switched to tennis in Amsterdam – beach volleyball isn’t ideal in a windy city during a pandemic – but maybe I’ll get back into it. Freiburg has plenty of courts, so that’s exciting.
We’re running short on time, so let me ask: what are some “hard truths” about founding a startup that you think people often underestimate?
A few come to mind. First, there’s the mental marathon aspect. Today we talk about founder burnout more openly, but I gave almost zero thought to the emotional toll at the start. I worried about logistics – funding, product development, personal finances – but not how it would affect my mental health. You really need to be proactive: investing in personal relationships, making time for non-work activities, and being aware of when stress is piling up. If you just let the startup consume you, it will take more than you can give, and eventually you’ll crash and you, your friends and family and your startup will pay a heavy price for that.
Second, the biggest competitor isn’t usually a direct rival – it’s the status quo. For most potential customers, the easiest action is to do nothing. That’s why your solution has to be compelling enough that they’re willing to leave their comfort zone and take the risk. Simply being “cool” or “cheaper” than the other guys may not be enough.
Lastly, even if you execute perfectly, timing and larger market forces can still derail you. If you’re tackling a big problem, you’re betting on broader trends and waves of change – and they might not break at the right time if they do at all. Being right five years too early can still lead to failure. So, focus on what you can control and acknowledge that some factors are outside your hands. I think that’s a healthy attitude to both successes and failures along the journey: acknowledge them, learn from them, appreciate them for what they give you and then let them pass as you are highly unlikely to be entirely responsible for them.
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