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Post YC Depression

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Re: Post YC Depression

#31

Post by fastball »

fab1an wrote: post #27

One of the advantages of running your own business is that you set the tempo and values of it yourself. You. No one else. If you end up with something that isn't working out for you, you're doing it wrong. At my previous company, one of our (somewhat implicit) values was "suffering is not a KPI". And even though there are times when things are rougher, these should be exceptions, not the rule. At the same time, worki…

I work 85ish hours a week and nearly 100% of it is spent on actual productive work.

Re: Post YC Depression

#32

Post by barry-cotter »

arexxbifs wrote: post #17

> Farmgirl Flowers CEO Christina Stembel normally sleeps just 4 hours per night Doing this for sustained periods of time will lead to reduced cognitive performance[0] and, eventually, severe fatigue and possibly depression. Sounds like optimal operating conditions for a CEO. If the dotcom bubble taught me anything, it's that working all the time is neither cool nor a measure of success, but rather the opposite. [0] h…

For people with a normal need for sleep that’s worse than going two days without sleep. Six hours a night for a week degrades mental performance about that much.

Ms Stembel could be far out on the bell curve in terms of her need for sleep. People who are perfectly healthy on four hours sleep a night for decades exist.

Re: Post YC Depression

#33

Post by borplk »

arexxbifs wrote: post #17

> Farmgirl Flowers CEO Christina Stembel normally sleeps just 4 hours per night Doing this for sustained periods of time will lead to reduced cognitive performance[0] and, eventually, severe fatigue and possibly depression. Sounds like optimal operating conditions for a CEO. If the dotcom bubble taught me anything, it's that working all the time is neither cool nor a measure of success, but rather the opposite. [0] h…

Read it but don't believe it.

This type of statements are just capitalist propaganda to guilt trip the "temporarily-embarrassed millionaires" into working for free for them.

"____ sleeps just 4 hours per night"

If it's a successful millionaire people tend to think "wow I'm so lazy no wonder ....".

If it's "broke John Smith" people will think "well duh ... no wonder he's broke ... sleep is important for health!".

Re: Post YC Depression

#35

Post by fastball »

StevenWaterman wrote: post #15

This was a good article, but I want to briefly call out that `6X more likely to suffer from ADHD` is not a useful stat when trying to argue that being a founder causes health issues. ADHD is present from birth and cannot develop as the result of trauma. It's still an interesting statistic, but for a different reason. People with ADHD are more likely to become founders, as they're more driven by passion, challenge, an…

Another interpretation is that people with ADHD have less of the attention span which is required to work for someone else.

Re: Post YC Depression

#36

Post by asutekku »

fastball wrote: post #31
fab1an wrote: post #27

One of the advantages of running your own business is that you set the tempo and values of it yourself. You. No one else. If you end up with something that isn't working out for you, you're doing it wrong. At my previous company, one of our (somewhat implicit) values was "suffering is not a KPI". And even though there are times when things are rougher, these should be exceptions, not the rule. At the same time, worki…

I work 85ish hours a week and nearly 100% of it is spent on actual productive work.

Exception does not make a rule.

Re: Post YC Depression

#37

Post by speedplane »

ignoramous wrote: post #24
speedplane wrote: post #9

This article should be another datapoint in every entrepreneur's handbook that simply going through the YC and Silicon Valley VC community does not ensure good outcomes. Owning 100% of a company making $1M/year is far more rewarding and valuable than owning 1% of a company making $100M/year. Consider YC as a last resort if you have no other options.

> Consider YC as a last resort if you have no other options. I think you mean, consider "accelerators" / outside-investment from Angels and VCs as a last resort? YC can't be last resort, because it would be foolish to think you'd get in, given the quality of startups and founders that apply-- Might as well pack up bags and brush up on leet-code, instead, as that's a last-resort more likely to work.

> I think you mean, consider "accelerators" / outside-investment from Angels and VCs as a last resort?

More generally I mean, give up a piece of your company as a last resort. Not saying investor money is always evil, sometimes it's simply necessary to make it through a bad patch or to get off the ground if you're broke. But if someone is giving you money for your company, it means that they value it more than you, which is immediately suspect.

Re: Post YC Depression

#38

Post by heavenlyblue »

fastball wrote: post #31
fab1an wrote: post #27

One of the advantages of running your own business is that you set the tempo and values of it yourself. You. No one else. If you end up with something that isn't working out for you, you're doing it wrong. At my previous company, one of our (somewhat implicit) values was "suffering is not a KPI". And even though there are times when things are rougher, these should be exceptions, not the rule. At the same time, worki…

I work 85ish hours a week and nearly 100% of it is spent on actual productive work.

How many years have you spent doing it?

Re: Post YC Depression

#39

Post by theodric »

fastball wrote: post #31
fab1an wrote: post #27

One of the advantages of running your own business is that you set the tempo and values of it yourself. You. No one else. If you end up with something that isn't working out for you, you're doing it wrong. At my previous company, one of our (somewhat implicit) values was "suffering is not a KPI". And even though there are times when things are rougher, these should be exceptions, not the rule. At the same time, worki…

I work 85ish hours a week and nearly 100% of it is spent on actual productive work.

Good for you!

edit: not actually good for you

Re: Post YC Depression

#40

Post by Legogris »

> Only recently, have a select few started to promote less destructive lifestyles for founders:

I think at the bottom of this is the futility in trying to emulate others. You are unique and the only one who can be responsible for your lifestyle choices is - you. Figure out what works for you in terms of workstyle, lifestyle and work-life balance, rather than using role models as a blueprint.

I know a few people who have been living on <5h of sleep for decades and it's actually right for them. Telling those individuals that they need 8h is not improving anything. That doesn't mean it can work for most people.

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