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Hmm, I don't know if this is true. Maybe we just see it that way because of the vocal minority effect? Bluntly put: We don't see many 'hey, Joe didn't kill himself/isn't depressive' posts being written.
> The statistics being what they are What statistics? You occasionally read about startup employees or (co-)founders killing themselves, that's not a statistic. What's the rate compared to non-startup jobs? Suicide is a problem across the board. If someone is suffering from depression but has even a weak desire to do a startup, I'm not so sure encouraging them to take that job at BigCo is really good advice. A lot of…
The statistics of start-up failure, which is pretty much a given, success is the exception.
> The statistics being what they are What statistics? You occasionally read about startup employees or (co-)founders killing themselves, that's not a statistic. What's the rate compared to non-startup jobs? Suicide is a problem across the board. If someone is suffering from depression but has even a weak desire to do a startup, I'm not so sure encouraging them to take that job at BigCo is really good advice. A lot of…
> What statistics? The statistics of start-up failure, which is pretty much a given, success is the exception.
This is confirmation bias. You don't hear about all the other people completing suicide.
> If a start-up fails, then to some degree it may feel like you yourself have failed, even if that is absolutely not the case.
There's a risk that this is extended to everything. "If a new job fails"; "If a new relationship fails"; etc.
Really, the article could be saying "Get treatment for your depression" (which is important whether you're doing a start up or not) and "Develop some tools for resilience, learn some techniques to help you cope with life".
A startup, especially if it's your first, contains nearly every trigger listed above. but many who are already depressed see it as a way out of depression. Since if successful, it also covers nearly all solutions.
For some then, a startup is not a choice, it's the only visible way out.
I don't feel like I could last more than 3 months at bigco, that is if my lack of degree, and my full startup career, and "no-nonsense" attitude woud not block me at the recruitment process.
When you need control of your office life, when you have to be able to make a better expense report system if you see a problem, when you want to impact the end product in a major way, when you want to select the people you will work with, then you have to go for small and young companies.
I would add that I know several people who committed suicide, and these incidents lead us who are left behind to build a mental model of suicide reasons.
My personal suicide anecdote model says:
- If you are depressive please avoid:
- * show-business ( esp. if you have early success )
- * entering a heterosexual marriage and having children if you are actually homosexual
> With some regularity I read articles about some amiable, accomplished and brilliant young kid that decides to end their life in the start-up scene This is confirmation bias. You don't hear about all the other people completing suicide. > If a start-up fails, then to some degree it may feel like you yourself have failed, even if that is absolutely not the case. There's a risk that this is extended to everything. "If…