Combatting with startup Loneliness
Most of my moment times I spend as a loner, not because I like it but there are reasons behind and sometimes I try to fight this situation and feeling, trying to fill the gap between me and the society, yes you gotta admit human extroverts are the worst when it comes to the Introverted world, like they all talk and never stop that’s how it seems to some of us. In Reference to this as a startup founder and as a startup, I’ve noticed and experienced stigma in the ecosystem, this leads to loneliness, but this is not necessarily the same type of emotions felt by humans.
One thing we all have struggles, some choose to speak them out and most stay with the struggles, they die in silence, wanting to maintain the image of perfection to the ecosystem, to the other founders, to the employees just to gain the talk of town or perhaps maintain the confidence resided in them by the society. “we are slaying it, over a few weeks and we already made it to the top 500 on the app stores” coming back to the grounds it’s only installed and no usages, the traction is only brought because of a paid advert or third party carry agents, so as a founder you still struggle to pressure yourself on how you will transform the Installs to usage, either way, Anton has to die to save you as a startup or individual.
Just like humans, your startups need some therapy, evaluation and conscious decision making either to the death or next phase of life, What do you do when you want to close a funding round and the Investor Withdraws? what do you do when you are about to launch a product you spent 5 years in your man cave developing and you realise Google, Apple or any other big company has rolled out the same product? Do you still have the moral to proceed? do you quit and change your approach to the solution having in mind the bigwigs had the idea and launched it when you are about to launch?
That’s when you realise it’s not that easy, it’s never fair and now you need to speak to someone who feels your situation and you don’t see, you die in fear of giving birth to another idea, of loneliness, you seclude yourself instead of sorting other ways to deal with the situation. Remember your not the only one under the same pressure as a founder or startup.
You are not alone in this world and the only way to combat this is to go out in any way you can perhaps maybe like the way Sheldon Cooper does, game the feeling away.
Here are some therapy for you and your startup:
- Join an Accelerator Program or Hub
Hubs and Accelerators have different types of assistance to the startups, they bring specific people under one roof, with different types and sets of skills, with this kind of exposure you are definitely going to realise not you only face the problem of soliciting self. Ever gone to a meeting and someone asks a question that’s already running in your mind? That’s not voodoo but you realise the problem is also common to other people. Get to meet the mentors, investors and other founders seeking the light too from each other.
- Be Honest with the team and Seek professional help if and when you need it
Honesty is a great key tool in every relationship, and in the ecosystem, there are specific types of people, Lie to get your way to the top others just find their way through hard work. Let’s put into an example, you are a startup probably in your dying phase, the only thing between you and your funding round is the fear of not knowing how to describe your product ethically and in an elevator pitch manner, but you have a team member or perhaps a friend who is so good at this but with the fear of he/she gon steal my idea and use it elsewhere. Remember you already have an idea running and the only thing stopping you from the next phase is not knowing to speak but its wrapped with the fear of I will do it, yes you believe in yourself but the capacity you are in is not enough for this state so stay honest and seek help, show your weakness you never know.
- Attend Meetups and intramural activities
Well any or most of the people who attend these things are out for something, to seek help, talk of issues in a specific area, or find social company, startups in your local areas may be organising the meetups with a topic on how to find the best team in partner or co-founder sourcing and you are dying alone at home figuring out how to do it. They’re also helpful when it comes to reducing feelings of loneliness. Even if it’s hard or feels unnatural, introduce yourself speak your mind and situation, You might even make a friend or two to commiserate with about the trials and tribulations of startup life.
Some of this issues we let affect our startups can be avoided if we learn to co-exist with each other rather than soliciting ourselves. always worry about the chances you never tried to.
