[paul]

It's disappointing to see this as the top comment, as it fundamentally misunderstands and misrepresents the point of Sam's post.

Running a startup is a very difficult and stressful activity, especially when things are not going well. The message is not, "get your shit together and succeed." The message is to talk to someone when things are difficult, because loneliness will only make it worse. This is true for any major stressor, whether business, health, or relationship, and the comments here from actual founders all reflect the value of this advice.

[marvin]

It's possible to do both, though. As I pointed out elsewhere in this thead, Sam's post is very helpful and to the point, but there is a lot of undiagnosed psychiatric illness in the startup world. Much of it largely self-inflicted by excessive pressure, lack of sleep and long hours. This is a point which is willfully ignored in this forum, so it's very worthy of being discussed.

[paul]

I agree with that. There's too much macho, "look at me work 24/7 and never sleep" nonsense in the startup world, and it's bad for everyone.

[marvin]

It's reassuring to hear someone who's definitely a high-profile industry insider say this, thanks for taking the time to respond. Seems obvious to me as an outsider, but it's probably easy to be blinded by the status quo.

[paul]

I tell the founders in every batch that we invest in people, so if they are not taking care of their health, they are harming our investment :)

Successful companies take many years to build. If founders burn out after a few years, they will never be a big success.