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by pton_xd 948 days ago
> If you are founding a startup and you have a wife, you are more likely to fail than an entrepreneur who is single.

At the very least, having to explain and justify every choice and setback to a non-involved yet judgmental person sounds miserable.
3 comments
renewiltord 948 days ago
That's simply an incompatibility in choice of partner. Some people want a stable financial life, with steady slow growth, and long-term planning where the trendline doesn't deviate from the projected growth.

Others want to take a shot at the moon, and financial failure in this shape is just part of the deal. If you're in the latter category and you want to pursue that but your wife is in the former category there is going to be some strife. You can't give them the certainty they desire. Someone who is expecting the success case isn't really ready for this when they're considering framing post-its after your successful IPO.

As an example, I think most partners of founders I know are easier to talk to. It's not that they're all rah-rah "you're gonna do it!". It's just that you need support and a team. Someone to run ideas by who's a friend. And if you're married to the right person, that's your wife.

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jedberg 948 days ago
> At the very least, having to explain and justify every choice and setback to a non-involved yet judgmental person sounds miserable.

Sounds like the accountability every founder could only dream of having. Good founders generally seek out others that will hold them accountable (accelerators, investors, peer groups). With a spouse you get one for free!

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dotnet00 948 days ago
They are involved when they're your wife/husband.
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pton_xd 948 days ago
They're not involved in the startup unless they are cofounders.
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dotnet00 948 days ago
Not being involved in terms of being a founder doesn't make them uninvolved.

They're involved in the same way that any of your kids would be involved. Of course your kids wouldn't be co-founders, but that wouldn't make them uninvolved parties to you taking large financial risks and dragging them down with yourself in the case of significant failure.

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jbverschoor 948 days ago
Of course they are.. going on a date, dinner, spending money, reflecting or arguing, basically anything…..

It will impact you as a founder, and you, in the startup and scaleup phase, ARE the company

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yakshaving_jgt 948 days ago
That’s not how things work in my experience.

Founders are still human.

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