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Married startup founder in his 30s here. Wife actually had her own startup for a good bit in a non-technical field, she wound that down a few years ago, now she's doing the stay with the kids thing, while I'm working to bootstrap a company. The big thing that helps is not overlapping, while simultaneously being understanding. My wife has been my biggest source of mental stability on this crazy journey. She's my editor-in-chief, and I run my harebrain ideas past her. When I set out doing this we talked for a long time as to what the exit and breaking points are. Startups require a certain amount of personal pride, but too many founders make the startup their entire identity, which the article exemplifies beautifully. There are too many people that treat the founder title as a status symbol. And from the article, that seems to be the case for both the subject of the article, and the author. For me, the simple reality is if my shop can't bring in a paycheck by X date to support the family, it doesn't matter how well the startup is going, I need to go out and get a job. If that means I have to go sling contract code, or get a corporate gig, or go down to the nearest city and tend bar on the weekends, then so be it. The only way to truly fail at this game is to not play. |