There’s a reason I started the Founder’s Starter Pack talking about self-reflection:
Dr. Michael Freeman found that 50% of founders have mental health issues, they are twice as likely to suffer from depression and they are 10 times more likely to suffer from bipolar disorder.
There are a number of examples of founders who have taken their own lives; a prominent one being former eBay, PayPal and Skype executive Eric Salvatierra.
Eric left behind his wife and daughters having suffered from bipolar disorder and depression throughout his journey. Read more on Eric’s tragic story here.
Mindfulness, self-awareness and mental health have been increasingly hot topics of late, and rightfully so. An honest moment of self-reflection is never a bad idea, as starting or running a business is no walk in the park, especially when doing it for the first time.
If I were to start another company, I’d know what I was in for, although being naive to the challenges ahead can be a blessing. There is a lot of stigma associated with not being able to rise to those challenges; you’re expected to be at your best all the time, whether you’re pitching for funding, selling to a client or coding all night.
Realistically, no one is able to do this all the time; part of being a human being means having flaws and imperfections. Yet as the pressure mounts, so can our insecurities. We start to tell ourselves that we are not worthy, and we might start to be overwhelmed by shame, anger, fear or jealousy.
There are a few questions worth asking yourself before you get started and as you progress. I’ve included some top tips for managing stress and examples from my own journey. My goal here is to help you identify when you need help and to share some useful tools that allow you to get the most out of your start-up experience.
I’m not a medical or mental health professional and, whilst I’ve consulted the experts, if you feel your or a friend’s mental health is suffering, please seek professional advice. More information can be found at the end of the document.
Ask yourself: What are my strengths and weaknesses?
It’s okay to have weaknesses but knowing what they are is vitally important. This will help you address gaps in your skillset and fill them with good people.
Take a personality test, although there are pitfalls to these, or reach out to your friends, colleagues, mentors and family for personal feedback.
It might feel strange, but people are usually receptive to vulnerability and humility; it’s what makes us human. Identifying and addressing “weaknesses” can bring peace of mind: I constantly struggled while helping with tech issues – I have some knowledge of coding languages but I’m good with people, not computers. The stress that was triggered by thinking “I need to be better at this” or “if I don’t get this done, we’re screwed” was pretty overwhelming.
The day we made our first hire (a head developer) was the day I removed myself from technology and eliminated a large proportion of that stress.
Am I an expert in my field? I started a FinTech company fresh out of a Biology degree… I spent months learning and networking, diving headfirst into the industry: it was about building credibility. Above I talked about always being at 100% – make that 150% if you don’t have the knowledge or network base in the industry, or previous start up experience (i.e. success).
We’ve seen competitors get meetings or raise, purely because of their past experience, which is tough to take when you’ve been preaching your vision for years.
That takes me to the next question… How do I fare in an unstructured work environment?
The reality is that one second everything’s fine, then the next everything’s on fire. As a founder, you need to get to grips with the known-knowns, the known-unknowns and the unknown-unknowns to build a vague roadmap. Then ask yourself: “do I have the resilience to deal with the unknown-unknowns and think on my feet?” Easier said than done obviously – my personal feeling is to plan for the worst and hope for the best.
Speaking to an entrepreneur in the credit industry the other day, he told me: “your highs are never actually that high, and the lows are never actually that low”.
Your ability to bounce back from a stressful event has a name; resilience.
If you can manage your expectations, you can manage your stress.
Are you willing to pause your social life?
Building a successful business means putting in serious (yet fluctuant) hours.
Figuring out your work life balance is paramount, but your social life will likely take a hit. It can be lonely, but it doesn’t have to be.
I’m lucky to have cofounders, friends and family who have supported me and have also accepted that I will cancel on plans or prioritize work when I have to.
Be proactive: I often actively reach out since they are dealing with their own things. If you can still be present and there for people, they will be there for you. On the topic of family, I’ve brought in the Billingsley family resident psychiatrist (my brother – Dr. Mike) to help me expand on the importance of mental health and add some top tips for staying on top of your mental health: Resilience.
Lucy Hone’s Ted talk is well worth a watch. Quickly, here are her observations of resilient people:
- Resilient people know suffering exists and that they may well encounter it in their lives.
- Resilient people can choose where they select their attention and focus on things they can change, rather than what they can’t.
- Resilient people are able to identify whether something will help or harm them
Three good things.
Research suggests that sitting down at the end of your day and writing down three good things that have happened to you during your day increases wellbeing and reduces the risk of depression.
Get out and get creative.
It’s important to get out of the office and into nature.
Did you know London is the world’s first national park city?
Humans are not narrow, we are broad and expansive, we like to move, dance, sing and play. Those things might make you cringe but finding a creative outlet that has nothing to do with your business helps foster a sense of overall well-being (and stops you being that person at parties who can’t shut up about your business). I play the piano, practice football or martial arts and (attempt to) learn Spanish.
Technology can work for you.
There are some great apps for managing mental health and I’ve listed a few below. But being able to switch off is of vital importance and having a ‘shut off’ time without tech before bed will help you wind down and have a better-quality sleep. It will also help you compartmentalize and focus your time.
- https://www.headspace.com/ – you’ve probably heard of this one. Mindfulness has been shown to greatly reduce stress and is used by a plethora of movers in the start-up space.
- https://www.calm.com/ – a similar sort of platform with a greater emphasis on sleep.
- https://www.betterhelp.com/ – a way to access a trained counsellor online in minutes.
- https://woebot.io/ – a neat idea. One of the primary modalities of psychotherapy is something called Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Woebot is an AI therapist who talks you through CBT, although it’s a little clunky it’s a great free tool for learning more about mental health.
- http://treebetty.com/apps – have a host of apps that help you track your mood and engage more in gratitude journaling.
Find what works for you…I can’t sit still enough for meditation so I make a point of stretching for 15 minutes before bed.
Tracking mental health at your business.
We track revenue, various traction metrics, costs etc., so why not mental health?
Tools like CharlieHR are brilliant for founders or execs who want to stay on top of employee feedback which can help you have the right conversation at the right time.
Mental healthiness adds value.
Part of what I’m trying to do here is work towards de-stigmatizing mental health conversations in start-ups.
The team at Kip compares a founder having therapy sessions to buying a new Mac – over the course of the year, they probably cost about the same, but a healthy founder is worth so much more to the company than a new laptop.
Investors have a huge influence here as well; would you feel comfortable expensing a therapy session to the business?
Kip has put together an investor pledge to work towards this de-stigmatization.
In summary, a problem shared is a problem halved. Draw from your community of friends, family, colleagues and mentors. They will give you feedback, support and encouragement. Conversely, be aware that going it on your own can be a path to loneliness and isolation which takes its toll on your mental health.
Ask yourself the difficult questions around resilience before you start and as you go through your journey.
IMPORTANT: If you or a loved one is ever feeling so low or stressed that they are having thought of harming themselves or others, or starting to see or hear things that are unsettling, please talk to someone:
- Call 111 or 999 to liaise with a healthcare professional or contact your GP urgently.
- https://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan/ – the Samaritans are an excellent service for helping people all across the UK suffering some mental health issues
- Further mental health crisis contact numbers can be found here: https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/guides-to-support-and-services/crisis-services/helplines-listening-services/
- As a founder, money can be a huge stressor as well, so check out https://www.moneyandmentalhealth.org/ as well.
Find me on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/will-billingsley/