When to Help
Founders First is excited to share the results of our “When to Help” campaign. The objective of “When to Help” is to share stories from entrepreneurs about their experiences as founders, times at which they felt they were heading into a personal crisis, and when they wished they got help along the way. We are sharing these stories so others have a deeper understanding of the challenges of the entrepreneurial journey.
When to Help: For Investors
THANK YOU Founders First Leadership Circle for your contributions to our When to Help campaign. Special thanks to co-publishers Erik Severinghaus, Rachel Downey & Jorge Partidas.
Over 620,000 new businesses are created in the US each year. In 2018, startups created 3.7 million jobs in the U.S. Entrepreneurs are a pillar of the American economy, yet we are in a time of crisis.
In 2015 a Berkeley, Stanford and UCSF study discovered that 72% of entrepreneurs are affected by a variety of mental health conditions. 49% reported having lifetime mental health conditions. Entrepreneurs are 11 TIMES more likely to be bipolar than the average population. This leaves entrepreneurs particularly vulnerable to stress.
As an investor, you’ve put incredible amounts of time and effort into researching business opportunities and studying market plans. But you know that, ultimately, the founder is the most critical component of executing the shared vision. Their determination and resourcefulness is critical to protecting your portfolio. Would you know if they were approaching personal crisis, even if it was one that could cripple their performance, and your investment?
100% of founder respondents experienced a personal crisis
71% of respondents experienced mental health impacts
One of the most powerful take-aways from this survey is that only 12% of our founder respondents indicated “company issues” as a sign of their coming crisis. That means the opportunity to help would have been missed 88% of the time if we only looked to business metrics as the warning signs. With “changes in key relationships” and “self-destructive behavior” being the leading indicators, we need revisit the kind of questions we ask to ensure our founders have the support they need to achieve success. These interventions are even more critical in conjunction with another key finding: 100% of founder respondents have experienced a personal crisis when building their business. Such crises are an immense risk to investment, but they don’t have to be.
In order to qualitatively explore how entrepreneurs on the ground are experiencing times of crisis, we conducted a survey with five questions, asking entrepreneurs:
1) What was their personal crisis;
2) What was the impact of their personal crisis;
3) What were the warning signs of their personal crisis;
4) What WOULD have helped them during their personal crisis; and
5) What advice they had for other entrepreneurs who may be facing a crisis themselves.
After receiving seventeen responses, the answer was clear - 100% of respondents had a personal crisis to report.
While responses varied in terms of what area of each entrepreneur’s life was most impacted by their crisis experience, they all had a story to tell. Questions were open-ended; participants were able to describe in detail the impact of their personal crisis.
Respondents indicated that they experienced the greatest impacts in categories of relationships and mental health, with 82% reporting their crisis negatively impacted their relationships, and 71% reporting that their mental health suffered. All of this reflects what entrepreneurs already know: building a business from the ground up is hard, and it takes a toll on our minds, bodies, and relationships.
Here is what we found.
Findings
Personal Crisis
All 17 participants experienced a crisis in their lives during their entrepreneurial journey. This crisis was an event - a moment - that occurred in their personal lives. They realized it when they noticed stress in their relationships, strain on their mental health, and deteriorating physical health. It also took the form of financial impacts on their companies, sometimes coupled with external factors, such as Covid-19.
Impact of Personal Crisis
The impact of crisis experiences looked different across participants. Six mentioned their crisis impacted their companies financially, 14 described it as impacting their relationships (either at work, at home, or both), 12 said it affected their mental health, 3 reported addictions, and 4 said it took a toll on their physical health, manifesting itself in sleep loss and weight gain.
Warning Signs of Personal Crisis
The signs of their impending personal crisis looked different for each founder. Some said it was complications in their relationships that gave them clues, such as troubles in their marriage or with their family and/or friends. Others said the warning signs were external, like the coming impacts of a tanking economy, or the effects of Covid-19. Other respondents said it was the uptick in their self-destructive behaviors, such as addiction, that were signs of a coming crisis. Then there are those that said it was their declining mental health that told them something was not right in their world.
What WOULD Have Helped
Founders said if only they had supportive peers around that knew what they were going through - that would have helped. Others pointed to self-care; they wished they had better stress-reducing habits, like meditation. Others cited professional mental health support as a resource they wish they had taken advantage of. Finally, some pointed to a needed culture shift in the U.S. One that puts less of an emphasis on the “hustle” as a part of one’s worth.
Advice to Others
Founders who took this survey urged others to learn from their mistakes - and to make sure they don’t try to do it alone. A common theme was the need to find a supportive group of people that can help you along the journey. Practicing self-care was a common theme as well: establishing good habits like meditation, regular activities for your mind and body, and getting enough sleep. They urged founders to take advantage of mental health support: finding someone to help them through, like a therapist. Finally, they urged founders to be sure they generally take enough time to focus on their own mental health.
Types of Personal Crisis
Personal Crisis is Universal
The stress and long hours of building a company results in many founders experiencing a personal “crisis moment” at some point in their entrepreneurial journey. Whether a family or relationship crisis, a health crisis, or cumulative mental health effects that have taken them to the breaking point, it’s something we all experience.
We asked founders to tell us about a point in their entrepreneurial journeys where they realized they were in a moment of personal crisis.
“In 2007 I was running a software company that was doing really well. We had 75 employees and $14 million annual revenue. I was 26 years old at the time.
One day I was sitting at my desk in my office and my heart started racing. I felt it picking up and it scared me. Next thing I knew it rose even higher. I worried it wouldn't be able to stop it or control it. I felt out of control. I called my wife in a panic thinking I was having a heart attack. I went to urgent care and after an hour getting an EKG I was told everything was normal. I was referred out to a specialist at Duke University who ran me through extensive cardio labs and tests only to determine I was perfectly healthy.
I was forced to admit that my heart was responding to the stress I was enduring, not any physical illness. My brain had made my body sick. The stress I was enduring was making me sick. Without any clear end to the stress in sight I was scared it would continue to happen. This incident kept me out of the office for three days and caused me to be even more behind and stressed out when I returned to work again.”
“Long, long hours. Putting almost everything at risk. Sacrificing relationships with family and friends. Sedating with alcohol, sleeping pills. Lack of sleep.”
Impacts of Personal Crisis
The Warning Signs
“My life had been reduced only to working and using drugs. I stopped seeing my friends, and participating in life. The biggest sign that my life was heading for a crisis was when I started taking painkillers while I was at work.”
“If I had found meditation or self-care, or knew how to nourish my mind, body, and spirit I would’ve never become an addict.”
What WOULD Have Helped
Advice to Other Entrepreneurs
“Being aware of your triggers, your mental wellbeing, and having the tools to regain balance are extremely important.”
Conclusion
Founders First is excited to share these results with you from entrepreneurs around the United States.
Our “When to Help” survey has provided us with first-hand testimonials about the challenges of entrepreneurship. It has also given us a clearer understanding of the specific types of challenges that founders are faced with and, most importantly, clear indication as to the warning signs and the moments when we, as a founder community, can help. As one entrepreneur shared: “I am so thankful I've recognized the need for peer to peer support.”
Founders First’s mission is to continue to shine a light on the challenges of entrepreneurship so we can make each other’s journeys easier. We are grateful for the input we received from the entrepreneurs brave enough to tell their story, and hope that their words resonate with you.
Mental Health Resources
If you or someone you know is struggling - please reach out to someone that can help. As these survey results demonstrated - it’s important to know that entrepreneurs face significant challenges - but don’t have to do it alone.
https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/find-help/index.shtml
https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/national-helpline
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
Call 1-800-273-TALK (8255); En Español 1-888-628-9454
The Lifeline is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The Lifeline connects callers to the nearest crisis center in the Lifeline national network. These centers provide crisis counseling and mental health referrals. People who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have hearing loss can contact the Lifeline via TTY at 1-800-799-4889.
Crisis Text Line
Text “HELLO” to 741741
The Crisis Text hotline is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week throughout the U.S. The Crisis Text Line serves anyone, in any type of crisis, connecting them with a crisis counselor who can provide support and information.
SAMHSA’s National Helpline
1-800-662-HELP (4357), (also known as the Treatment Referral Routing Service) or TTY: 1-800-487-4889 is a confidential, free, 24-hour-a-day, 365-day-a-year, information service, in English and Spanish, for individuals and family members facing mental and/or substance use disorders. This service provides referrals to local treatment facilities, support groups, and community-based organizations. Callers can also order free publications and other information.
Veterans Crisis Line
Call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) and press 1 or text to 838255
The Veterans Crisis Line is a free, confidential resource that connects veterans 24 hours a day, seven days a week with a trained responder. The service is available to all veterans, even if they are not registered with the VA or enrolled in VA healthcare. People who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have hearing loss can call 1-800-799-4889.