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It is time for investors and entrepreneurs to start solving mental health problems in startups.


Colin Kroll co-founded Vine and HQ Trivia, incredibly successful companies with millions of satisfied users. Anthony Bourdain was a chef, journalist and philosopher who brought a sense of awareness and involvement in millions of lives. Robin Williams was a terrific actor and comedian.


What do all three have in common? Each of them reached heights in their industry and they all died too early. Their premature death is tragedy.


Sometimes the most intelligent and creative problems have the most, and nowhere is this more pronounced than in the business ecosystem. With each new death that is unnecessary, the importance of mental health briefly appears in our focus ... which soon switches to the next news. And nothing essentially changes. The time for empty speeches and statements has passed: we must seriously tackle this problem and begin to act.


The mental health epidemic is real. This year alone, 18.5% of Americans will experience mental health problems. For 4% of them, the disorder will be so strong that it will significantly limit the ability to live a normal life.


This means that with a high probability you or someone you know suffers and needs help. At the same time, unlike many of today's problems, the number of the most frequent manifestations of mental disorders ( anxiety, depression, alcohol / drugs and impostor syndrome ) can be reduced by concrete actions. We not only have to start doing something, we can do it.


While statistics on mental illness in the average for the population looks sad, in the case of entrepreneurs, it is simply terrifying. According to a study by Michael Freeman , entrepreneurs are 50% more likely to suffer from mental disorders, and some individual disorders are especially prevalent in startup founders compared to other people .


For the founders:




Picture: Flickr / Thomas Shahan


Preventing an epidemic of mental ills in entrepreneurship is a moral duty [of venture capitalists]. For a wise investor, this should be the goal of doing business.


Investors make money on blood, sweat and tears of the founders. Through the enthusiasm and efforts of the latter, we come to success or failure. We can treat the founders only as a means to achieve our goals (make money), but we can look at them as individuals.


I make an effort to truly get acquainted with our founders, and I cannot ignore their personal difficulties. When I see the personal success of the founders in our portfolio, it brings me no less satisfaction than being involved in their business success. Fortunately, I believe that both are connected, so we do not have to choose.


As Michael Freeman writes :


“Mental health is just as important for mental work in the 21st century as physical health is for past physical labor. Creativity, ingenuity, insight, the ability to plan and analyze - these and other other qualities are the main value creation entrepreneurs. ”

Depression, anxiety and mood disorders negatively affect the performance of the founders. Often, these disorders provoke burnout, conflict co-founders, toxic culture in the company, increased turnover, problems in hiring specialists, inability to “get together” at an important meeting or pitch. They seriously reduce the quality of decisions. According to Noam Wasserman from Harvard Business School, 65% of start-up failures are caused by reasons that could have been avoided (for example, the conflict of co-founders). All these experiences are especially aggravated when the founders go through periods of nervous and emotional stress.


Suppose that from a portfolio of 20 companies, 15 will fail or show mediocre results. Suppose also that the mentioned statistics about 65% will be correct. This means that 10 out of 15 companies (65%) did not show results for reasons that could have been avoided and which depend on people. If the fund can help avoid failures due to burnout and nerve load in at least half of these companies, this will mean success for 5 companies. This will double the performance of the portfolio!


Even if being pessimistic, a change in the result for 1 out of 10 companies gives an increase in successful companies in the portfolio from 5 to 6. In other words, helping funders with their “human” problems before these problems affect business, gives + 20% to result. Even if the privacy of the companies' founders in a portfolio is not important to someone, caring for the quality of the portfolio requires caring for the health of the founders.


Of course, it is good that investors state the importance of mental health fundrs, but words are not enough. We must take measures to reduce the nervous and emotional load on the founders. This is correct and it is useful for business.



Picture: Flickr / Thomas Shahan


Why do entrepreneurs have to be so hard?


Mental health problems overwhelmed all industries, not just technological. But statistics show that for us in tech it is a very serious problem. P


Why do businessmen have problems on average more often? This is a difficult question and the research that is currently underway (for example, the Founder Central Initiative ) will help us find detailed answers to our questions. In the meantime, based on our experience with the founders, we see the following explanations:


  1. Self-selection Most of the founders are smart, trained and motivated professionals whose qualifications can ensure a comfortable life (the median salary on Facebook is now $ 240,000). And yet, they choose a debilitating, full of uncertainty, but more creative way of the founders. The founders almost certainly have a predisposition to some disorders, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, for example. In his book The Da Vinci Method, Garrett Lo Porto quotes Fortune magazine, which claims that people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder 3 times more often base their companies.
  2. Industry cliches. The image that the technology industry is trying to show is no less far-fetched than the covers of glossy magazines, and no less destructive. Photographic images of “ideal people” create unattainable standards of beauty. An endless stream of incredible success stories in record time sets unattainable standards for technology companies' founders.
  3. Startups are hard. Teamwork magic happens when a group of classy professionals with complementary skills are selected. Beginner founders do not have a full-fledged team and they should be engaged, including those tasks for which they have no predisposition. Projects that require skills unknown to the Founder tend to result in emotional burnout. Quite often you can see how in the early stages of a startup, introverts have to deal with pitches and sales, and extroverts understand the details of CRM systems.
  4. Startups lead to alienation . The all-consuming nature of startups often results in funders spending less time with their family and friends. Many have to break away from the support of loved ones and move because of strategic or financial considerations. With the accumulation of stress in the company, founders are likely to start working even harder - this is a natural reaction in a crisis. Such an approach only complicates the life of the founders, excluding relatives and friends from their lives and reducing the possibility of dealing with stress.
  5. Founder must be as reliable as rock. The founders have a huge responsibility - to remain calm in an unstable and unstable company. As a result, they often find themselves alone at the moment when they most need support. According to the founders, they feel that they cannot talk to their co-founders (especially if the problem is with them), cannot share the burden of their doubts with the employees, and feel that their family and friends do not understand or are simply tired of hearing about the company.
  6. Syndrome "I = my company." Funders blur the boundaries between themselves and their company so that company failures are often experienced as their own failures. Loss of a contract with a client or the word “no” from investors may be perceived as a deep personal rejection.
  7. Funders sit at the table last . I have not met any founders who would budget a line with extra expenses for themselves or who could go on vacation without guilt. Practically in any industry where qualification is required, it is considered that employees have the right to take care of themselves, and that taking care of themselves leads to greater efficiency of employees. Investors, founders and poorly trained middle managers spread the myth that the only way to success is to work hard.
  8. Financial risk. In addition to the loss of profits, the founders often do not get paid and invest a significant proportion of their savings in the business. This leads to huge financial stress and anxiety that failure in business will result in a personal financial catastrophe. Founder with large personal investments will live under the Damocles sword and will not be able to focus on pressing problems (realizing his worst nightmares).
  9. Impostor Syndrome. Funders often suffer from the feeling that they do not deserve their position and will be exposed sooner or later. This leads founders to associate success with luck, but they take all the blame for failure. 58% of employees of technical companies suffer from impostor syndrome . I suspect this figure is significantly higher for the founders.
  10. Ever-changing rules of the game. It is difficult for funders to celebrate small victories, as each success leads to the next, more difficult battle. The second in terms of stress period for the funder is on the eve of a major deal to raise funds. The most stressful period is right after the deal.
  11. Substance abuse. Our industry is filled to the brim with alcohol and other substances. The use among founders and employees of technical companies is encouraged - to establish relationships, to maintain productivity, or simply as a social lubricant. Alcohol and other substances are both a cause and symptoms of a wider problem in the ecosystem.

I bet that one reading of this list raised your level of stress and you saw yourself somewhere in it. Fortunately, there are ways of dealing with nervous disorders available to all of us.



Picture: Flickr / Thomas Shahan


What can investors and founders do for mental health?


Everyone who is part of the startup ecosystem is somehow connected with the problem of poor mental well-being of the founders. This gives each of us the opportunity to actively participate in changing the current practice for the better.


Remove the stigma from the problem


Investors should make it clear to their founders that they are seriously taking mental health problems. One way to do this is to join the Investor Promise , developed by Erin Frey and Ti Zhao from Kip. A simple promise sends a powerful signal to the founders that seeking help is normal. It is even better if investors explicitly tell new funders about their support and therapeutic assistance in cases when this is necessary.


For investors. Let's be honest: being an investor is not the same thing as being a founder, but it’s also not easy, and investors often have the same problems. If an investor wants to support the founder, he needs to be sincere and show his vulnerability. The investor must show the founders that:



For the founders. Do not spread the myths and do not believe them. If you have been working on your business in obscurity for years and have come to a big breakthrough, then make sure that your PR campaign truthfully describes the way you have done. You did your best to lead your company to success. You have invested heavily in yourself to make it to this point. Make sure that founders who read about your success understand how you actually came to him.


Provide resources


It is easy to forget how financially the majority of founders are financially limited. Just raised a round of $ 5 million does not mean that the funder has personal resources to find help and support. Part of the round should be reserved personally for the founders, and investors need to ensure that the founders invest in their health and development.


Funders need to include the cost of their health in the budget of the company . Budgets are an important document in terms of values ​​and set the priorities of the company. If there are no expenses in the budget to support the care of the physical, mental and emotional health of the founders and employees, the company will not have the resources to provide this support. We, the ecosystem participants, need to be supported in money by stating that we are "friendly to the founders" and "invest first of all in the founders."


Do not forget about the connection of mind and body


Mental, emotional, and physical health are deeply connected. Just as mental health problems can lead to abuse of alcohol and substances, lack of exercise or a poor diet can cause depression and loss of focus. Gaining extra 10 kilos is as real for the founder at the beginning of work on the company as a freshman because of the stress in connection with tests and exams. Only in the case of founders it may not be so harmless to health.


Funders need to include physical activity in their routine and follow the diet. Yoga, meditation or breathing practices are extremely helpful. Studies show that they all improve mood, help focus and increase emotional stability.


Socialization, socialization, socialization


Funds need to hold tight to their circle of support. Entry into new communities, phoned with old friends, meetings with relatives and the emergence of new friends have a positive effect on mental health. And this is not only a joyful way to relieve some of the stress, but also a great reminder to the founders that they have a life besides their technological business.


Funders need to consciously take a vacation with a digital detox, disconnecting from work and business. If the founder cannot disconnect on his own even while on holiday, think about communities like Soulscape or traveling where it’s impossible to stay connected. Emotional burnout is rarely suspected of failing to parse failed startups, but the trained eye will often find its effect on the decline of the company.


Create a culture that supports self-care. If everyone - from secretary to CEO - is ready to seek support and take care of themselves, then this creates a good habit in the company. A healthy corporate culture will pay off a thousandfold in hiring, in low outflows and in happy productive employees who are ready to take additional steps for the company if necessary.


Set priorities, not goals


Funders, as a rule, are completely devoted to their calendars and task lists. Unfortunately, the task list is just a reminder of the countless tasks that have yet to be done. For most of us, the task list is literally endless.


This is a great recipe for unbearable and uncontrollable workload for your psyche. The definition of anxiety is when we feel that our ability to achieve results is suppressed by current tasks. This is inevitable when tasks are poorly formulated, they are too large or there is no number.


Instead of the task list, switch to the list of priorities for the day, which only includes urgent and important tasks at the same time. It is possible that these tasks will be more difficult to accomplish, but the satisfaction of completing them cannot be compared with anything.


Be carefull


Learn about signs of depression and burnout. Sinking people do not swing their hands and do not cry for help - they silently go under water. Only trained rescuers usually notice trouble. The same goes for depression: depression sufferers do not spend time in endless complaints or sadness.


The following symptoms should alert you:



Conclusion


Creating a business is in itself a difficult task: mentally, physically and emotionally. At the same time, our ecosystem is toxic, and dozens of factors contribute to making the construction of the company even more difficult. We literally kill ourselves and thereby undermine our long-term competitiveness. There are real steps that each of us can take to begin eliminating this toxicity. But in the end, I believe that most of these actions boil down to treating each other and myself as people. If we recognize and accept our weaknesses and support each other in our experiences, then we will begin to see a healthier and more sustainable business ecosystem.



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Translation: Pavel Tsedenov ( @keepcalmandbehappy )
Edited by: Alexey Ivanov ( @ponchiknews )


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Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/449088/

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