What It Actually Feels Like to Start a Company
Most nights, it’s hard to sleep.
Weekends don’t mean anything anymore.
Closing a round of financing is not a relief. It just means more people are counting on you to turn their money into something twenty times bigger.
You cannot just "turn it off."
Television, movies, vacations all feel boring once you realize your company’s future might be sitting in your inbox or in the results of a test you forgot to run.
You feel guilty doing anything outside of work.
It takes years of fighting this to realize that balance is not a soft skill. It is an essential one.
The best ideas come when you are not staring at a screen.
Healthy distractions are not a luxury. They are a competitive advantage.
You learn to respect the Duck:
Paddle like hell under the water. Stay smooth and calm on top where everyone can see you.
Lose your cool, and you lose everything.
You keep asking if you are making the world better.
You start turning every conversation into an opportunity.
You see how hard it is to relate to people who are not risking it all every day.
You stop blaming them for not understanding.
You start finding your people: the ones who do.
You realize your real job is not the product.
It is the vision.
The culture.
The team.
The energy.
You will never forget the feeling when you look around and realize your team believes in the mission as much as you do.
You stop settling for mediocrity. You know what excellence looks like now, and you are not going backwards.
You turn down offers.
Not because of pride, but because you know the team you have is too good to sell short.
You know quitting is not an option.
You learn how to laugh at everything.
Because all the bad things you imagine happening? They will happen.
You will work two years on something and realize it was wrong in one day.
And you will still find yourself laughing at how ridiculous it all is.
You stop chasing money.
Freedom, autonomy, responsibility, and recognition become your currencies.
And they are the same currencies of the people you want to keep around.
You feel like a parent to your customers.
They will never know how much you love them.
They are the reason you are not crazy.
You learn who you really are.
What you do when you get punched in the face over and over again.
What you do when no one is watching.
You realize the only thing you can be truly great at is being yourself.
Compromise that, and you lose everything.
You get grateful for the hard days.
Because they show you who is really with you.
Because they teach you things winning never could.
You realize that most people only get one shot at something great.
And you are holding yours in your hands right now.
It is not easy.
It is not peaceful.
But it is exciting.
Every day is different. Every day matters.
Even the worst days are better than a life spent wondering.
And that is why you cannot do anything else.
You cannot just "turn it off."
Television, movies, vacations all feel boring once you realize your company’s future might be sitting in your inbox or in the results of a test you forgot to run.
You feel guilty doing anything outside of work.
It takes years of fighting this to realize that balance is not a soft skill. It is an essential one.
The best ideas come when you are not staring at a screen.
Healthy distractions are not a luxury. They are a competitive advantage.
You learn to respect the Duck:
Paddle like hell under the water. Stay smooth and calm on top where everyone can see you.
Lose your cool, and you lose everything.
You keep asking if you are making the world better.
You start turning every conversation into an opportunity.
You see how hard it is to relate to people who are not risking it all every day.
You stop blaming them for not understanding.
You start finding your people: the ones who do.
You realize your real job is not the product.
It is the vision.
The culture.
The team.
The energy.
You will never forget the feeling when you look around and realize your team believes in the mission as much as you do.
You stop settling for mediocrity. You know what excellence looks like now, and you are not going backwards.
You turn down offers.
Not because of pride, but because you know the team you have is too good to sell short.
You know quitting is not an option.
You learn how to laugh at everything.
Because all the bad things you imagine happening? They will happen.
You will work two years on something and realize it was wrong in one day.
And you will still find yourself laughing at how ridiculous it all is.
You stop chasing money.
Freedom, autonomy, responsibility, and recognition become your currencies.
And they are the same currencies of the people you want to keep around.
You feel like a parent to your customers.
They will never know how much you love them.
They are the reason you are not crazy.
You learn who you really are.
What you do when you get punched in the face over and over again.
What you do when no one is watching.
You realize the only thing you can be truly great at is being yourself.
Compromise that, and you lose everything.
You get grateful for the hard days.
Because they show you who is really with you.
Because they teach you things winning never could.
You realize that most people only get one shot at something great.
And you are holding yours in your hands right now.
It is not easy.
It is not peaceful.
But it is exciting.
Every day is different. Every day matters.
Even the worst days are better than a life spent wondering.
And that is why you cannot do anything else.
