[altay]

When you're spending most of your waking hours on a startup, your personal identity gets completely intertwined with your company's identity. So I think the the most important part of recovery is to separate those things. The goal is to internalize the distinction between "My company failed" and "I am a failure."

Two things helped me reach this point after my first company fell apart. First, I taught myself how to program. (I wasn't a hacker at the time.) No new skill has made me feel more empowered. Second, I got a job with a big company, where I was surrounded by a lot of people who -- to be totally frank -- weren't as ambitious or capable as I was. That experience was also very empowering. I saw my strengths, whereas before I'd been dwelling on my weaknesses.

I only lasted about a month at the big company before I got my mojo back and thought, "screw this, time for another startup." =P