[AussieWog93]

The article made mention of the fact that almost all of the startup founder/CEO social groups are environments of one-upmanship when what many people really need is support.

The comment was referencing this part of the article.

[haswell]

I think I get where they're coming from now, but ultimately I feel that it's a misguided take.

- TFA: Founders suffer from depression, and some have a difficult time getting support from their peers, because their peers are narcissists.

- Parent comment: "Depressed founder claims they can't form a group..." links to an article that's focused on narcissists, not really a resource for a depressed founder.

The trouble with the parent comment is that it's focused on "fixing" the situation with the narcissist social circle, when it may be more productive/appropriate to focus on the founder's immediate needs.

Sure, it's useful to think about ways to improve the behaviors seen in the social circle, but that's not really top of mind for a depressed person.

If I'm depressed, and I go to a friend for support, and they aren't in a place to support me, my next step isn't going to involve trying to change how my friend behaves, or trying to make it possible for them to support me.

[AussieWog93]

You're right, it is odd.

I didn't actually read the link that the commenter had posted before writing the explanation (under the ironic assumption that you hadn't read the article, or skipped over that bit).

I would say though, as a founder myself, I'm not sure how much of it is narcissism how much of it is the fact that we are excited by our success (and therefore want to share it with others), but tend to measure success quantitatively.

In many cultures, quantitative statements about success come across as arrogant and narcissistic in a way that, say, buying an LV belt doesn't.