I thought I’d drop a comment from someone on the other end.
I’ve worked for a couple start ups before. One was really successful at fundraising— and by that, I mean every time we were nearing the bottom of our checkbook, he would magically raise some more money.
I was right out of college and it was fun- I learned a lot while the business grew and shifted. I got to know the CEO well over the years. This wasn’t his first rodeo, he had sold a company for hundreds of millions once before. He was in his 50s. This was his retirement project - he routinely took lots of vacation, spent money on unnecessary things, but damn was he good at getting investor money. I stayed for a few years until I stopped growing and the atmosphere was toxic with no end in sight (it’s been 6 years since I left and he’s still in the game. Not profitable but a much more sellable product)
The next place was also a start up, but one already light years more successful. There were 130 employees and they had PROFITS in millions. The CEO was relatively young (30-32ish) when I joined. I was 24 and bright eyed for a change of pace. I was the youngest person on my team and gained a lot of respect by leadership in my time there. They didn’t take much investor money., and bootstrapped the first few years. The CEO was exhausted and stressed — Even though in the 8 years in operations, they had been profitable early on and never saw a downward slope. A keen eye could sense the stress behind his smile and small talk he made with employees. A year in, we did face that first downfall. And laid off 25% of the staff— along with so many other companies in our sector that went out of business. The founder postponed his wedding, gained more weight, and had bags under his eyes for months.
We got out of the slump alive— but he’ll never be the same.
I eventually left after we failed to get acquired by an incredibly large and well known media company. We prepared for a sale, and the market just crushed us.
Both of those jobs were emotional and stressful for me as well, but they don’t compare to what I’ve been my bf go through the last few years.
During that second job, I met my bf. He was getting out of a terrible job to start his own company.
The company lasted two years. He spent all day at home working, with a couple employees here and there. They were profitable early on— but no where near sustainable without infrastructure changes that would cost dearly. He tried to make it work for two years— birthday dinners canceled for investors who wanted to connect, vacations I went on alone, fights over spending too much time together causing distractions. It took him 6 months to know that company wasn’t going to work and 2 years to figure out the next steps.
Now, it’s been 2 more years since those next steps. He has a company with 50 employees doing some of the wildest work. They are growing in a field and location with no real competitors yet. Business is on its way to being good. But, most days, he’s the shell of who he used to be. He doesn’t have fun anymore and apart from overnight getaways we try and do for our own sanity (where he usually has to take a few calls on the weekends), he hasn’t taken a vacation for fun in 5 years. He has lost and lost touch with most friends and he works constantly. That was harder then losing all his savings.
He has days where he wakes up loving the work- the days where work never ends and there’s always something more to do. Days that I pull him aside for a kiss and it’s clear his mind is somewhere else- his mind is turning on his project and all the pieces. 18+ hours a day, 7 or so days a week.’ And then there are days where he can’t wait to be able to sell. Days where he questions what he set in motion— a daunting set of tasks ahead and no longer just himself. The realization of responsibility for dozens of families not his own.
I’ve wanted to start a company for years, but the emotional tax is far scarier then losing money. You can lose a sense of self with a start up- if you’re lucky once you make money you’ll find your way back to it.
For him it’s only just the start. 4 years later and it’s really only the start.
I thought I’d drop a comment from someone on the other end.
I’ve worked for a couple start ups before. One was really successful at fundraising— and by that, I mean every time we were nearing the bottom of our checkbook, he would magically raise some more money.
I was right out of college and it was fun- I learned a lot while the business grew and shifted. I got to know the CEO well over the years. This wasn’t his first rodeo, he had sold a company for hundreds of millions once before. He was in his 50s. This was his retirement project - he routinely took lots of vacation, spent money on unnecessary things, but damn was he good at getting investor money. I stayed for a few years until I stopped growing and the atmosphere was toxic with no end in sight (it’s been 6 years since I left and he’s still in the game. Not profitable but a much more sellable product)
The next place was also a start up, but one already light years more successful. There were 130 employees and they had PROFITS in millions. The CEO was relatively young (30-32ish) when I joined. I was 24 and bright eyed for a change of pace. I was the youngest person on my team and gained a lot of respect by leadership in my time there. They didn’t take much investor money., and bootstrapped the first few years. The CEO was exhausted and stressed — Even though in the 8 years in operations, they had been profitable early on and never saw a downward slope. A keen eye could sense the stress behind his smile and small talk he made with employees. A year in, we did face that first downfall. And laid off 25% of the staff— along with so many other companies in our sector that went out of business. The founder postponed his wedding, gained more weight, and had bags under his eyes for months.
We got out of the slump alive— but he’ll never be the same.
I eventually left after we failed to get acquired by an incredibly large and well known media company. We prepared for a sale, and the market just crushed us.
Both of those jobs were emotional and stressful for me as well, but they don’t compare to what I’ve been my bf go through the last few years.
During that second job, I met my bf. He was getting out of a terrible job to start his own company.
The company lasted two years. He spent all day at home working, with a couple employees here and there. They were profitable early on— but no where near sustainable without infrastructure changes that would cost dearly. He tried to make it work for two years— birthday dinners canceled for investors who wanted to connect, vacations I went on alone, fights over spending too much time together causing distractions. It took him 6 months to know that company wasn’t going to work and 2 years to figure out the next steps.
Now, it’s been 2 more years since those next steps. He has a company with 50 employees doing some of the wildest work. They are growing in a field and location with no real competitors yet. Business is on its way to being good. But, most days, he’s the shell of who he used to be. He doesn’t have fun anymore and apart from overnight getaways we try and do for our own sanity (where he usually has to take a few calls on the weekends), he hasn’t taken a vacation for fun in 5 years. He has lost and lost touch with most friends and he works constantly. That was harder then losing all his savings.
He has days where he wakes up loving the work- the days where work never ends and there’s always something more to do. Days that I pull him aside for a kiss and it’s clear his mind is somewhere else- his mind is turning on his project and all the pieces. 18+ hours a day, 7 or so days a week.’ And then there are days where he can’t wait to be able to sell. Days where he questions what he set in motion— a daunting set of tasks ahead and no longer just himself. The realization of responsibility for dozens of families not his own.
I’ve wanted to start a company for years, but the emotional tax is far scarier then losing money. You can lose a sense of self with a start up- if you’re lucky once you make money you’ll find your way back to it.
For him it’s only just the start. 4 years later and it’s really only the start.