{"id":151023,"date":"2023-07-31T16:45:10","date_gmt":"2023-07-31T12:45:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forbes.ge\/?p=151023"},"modified":"2023-07-31T16:45:10","modified_gmt":"2023-07-31T12:45:10","slug":"from-a-startup-founder-why-you-probably-shouldn-t-start-a-startup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.forbes.ge\/en\/from-a-startup-founder-why-you-probably-shouldn-t-start-a-startup\/","title":{"rendered":"From a Startup Founder: Why You Probably Shouldn\u2019t Start a Startup"},"content":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s this romantic vision of founding startup that doesn\u2019t hold up under close scrutiny. Sure, there are a few select cases where startup makes sense! But they are so rare, and it\u2019s so easy to fool yourself into thinking a bad opportunity is a good one, that it\u2019s really worth to slap yourself once or twice before jumping into a brewing volcano.<\/p>\n

One thing first though. This isn\u2019t a list of arguments about why startups suck, nope. This about what a startup CAN be like for MOST people.<\/p>\n

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We live in a time where startups are the new Beatles – everybody loves them, everybody wants to be part of one and everybody wants to start one of their own.<\/p>\n

You can\u2019t escape the appeal. Startups promise a cocktail of innovation, camaraderie, and the ever-tempting prospect of making it big. It\u2019s as if we’re all stuck in a grand episode of \u201cShark Tank\u201d. You imagine walking into work, high-fiving your visionary colleagues, and casually changing the world before lunch.<\/p>\n

Yeah, no. When I think about startups I also think \u2014 chaos, uncertainty, permanent existential crisis and crippling dread.<\/p>\n

Like an iceberg, much of the startup reality is hidden beneath the surface of glamorous success stories.<\/p>\n

Today I want to talk about exactly that \u2014 the less-known dark side of startups.<\/p>\n

P.S. \u2014 I know, I\u2019m a hypocrite. I am a startup founder myself and wouldn\u2019t change it for the world but still, hear me out.<\/em><\/p>\n

Reason #1: The False Allure of Startup Stardom<\/strong><\/h5>\n

I get it. The startup world looks like a dazzling constellation of breakout stars, soaring stock options, and youthful CEOs. But the media’s shining startup narrative is largely an illusion, a pink mirage that hides the bleak reality of startup survival.<\/p>\n

Did you know that around 90% of startups go kaput? So much for the glamor.<\/p>\n

The Zucks and the Musks of the world, they\u2019re the exceptions, not the rule. The average startup saga is a grueling marathon, not a thrilling sprint to stardom.<\/p>\n

Sure, the headlines will tell you about those prodigious founders who went from zero to a billion in a heartbeat, but they won’t mention the graveyard of failed ventures, dreams turned to dust.<\/p>\n

Those dead startups? They’re the silent majority, the overlooked footnotes in the grand startup narrative.<\/p>\n

These hard working entrepreneurs don’t get their names mentioned. Instead, they’re confined to the catacombs of anonymity, becoming ghostly footnotes in the grand startup saga.<\/p>\n

Most of the time startups are more like a survival horror show and the elusive stardom is more phantom than fact.<\/p>\n

The overnight success story is about as common as finding a golden ticket in your chocolate bar.<\/p>\n

Reason #2: Say Goodbye to Your Free Time<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Ah, the sweet promise of “flexible work hours,” a euphemism in the startup world for “work until you drop.” Flexibility, in this context, is like a rubber band – sure it stretches, but remember it snaps back with a vengeance, usually at 2 AM.<\/p>\n

Startups operate on hustle culture steroids. Unlike established companies with 9-to-5 routines, startups run on ’round-the-clock productivity spurts. So, if you’re picturing afternoon siestas and morning yoga sessions \u2014 just stop.<\/p>\n

Picture this instead: frantic Slack (or Discord in our case) messages at midnight, ‘quick’ meetings that devour your Sundays, and, of course, the work-cations that are more work than ‘cation’.<\/p>\n

And this makes sense, because in a startup (especially as a founder) you\u2019re constantly in an emergency mode.<\/p>\n

While it\u2019s a myth that every startup requires you to work overtime every week, most startup employees put in 50-60 hours per week, and many founders put in 60-100 per week.<\/p>\n

Sure, Elon Musk might sing praises of his 100-hour work weeks, but then again, he’s a freak of nature who thrives on Martians dreams and Twitter wars.<\/p>\n

Your work doesn\u2019t just eat up your free time \u2014 the work becomes all the time there is.<\/p>\n

Reason #3: Emotional Turbulence, Anyone?<\/strong><\/h5>\n

“Embrace the chaos,” they say. It’s the startup mantra, the founder badge of honor. But let me tell you, it’s less of a gentle embrace and more of a chokehold. Here your emotions are the unsuspecting passengers of a rollercoaster designed by a maniac.<\/p>\n

One moment, you’re soaring high on the wings of a successful pitch, adrenaline rushing, dopamine pumping. The next, you’re plummeting into the abyss of a failed product launch, grappling with anxiety and staring existential dread in the face. It’s like living in a constant state of emotional whiplash.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why I always say startup founders have only two modes:<\/p>\n