In my private practice I have had the opportunity of meeting and counseling many startup founders. Some of them have been boot strapped, others have raised one round of funding and some of them have raised multiple rounds of funding.
In my experience these are the following reasons why a startup founder needs to meet a psychologist:
Extreme Stress:
Being startup founder isn’t easy, and there is immense amount of stress primarily due to the lack of time, founders are working around the clock, and the stress is building. A visit to a experienced psychologist helps in releasing the stress and learning how to manage it in the future.
Nobody understands you:
Your peers working at MNCs and overseas and doing extremely well, they are indulging in fancy cars, foreign vacations and splurging while you are pinching pennies, and this is bothering your family, and in turn you.
The Startup has taken over your life:
It appears that the startup is more important than everything else in life, friends and family feel ignored, and you feel isolated
Life is an emotional roller coaster:
In a startup one moment things are going well the next they plunge. You have to keep your team motivated, but who is going to motivate you.
Managing Co-Founders:
“You haven’t seen some’s true colors, until you have worked on a startup with them”. Co-founders can back stab, cheat and lead you to failure. It is important to maintain and build on the relationship for the sake of the startup
Nervousness and Depression:
There is a belief among founders that once the VC hands over the money things will be great. I have seen that that founders are more nervous and depressed post the euphoria of receiving funding.
It is a lonely journey:
A very lonely journey, that you have voluntarily decided to go on, hence the unconditional support from the spouse, friends and family is not as readily available as you would like or need
A large number of startups don’t succeed, the media and people celebrate the successes only. We very rarely hear about the pain, anguish, and regret of the founder when he has to windup. One founder aptly expressed the pain he felt in the shutdown of his startup akin to a death in the family, the therapy provided to him was a version of grief counseling.
I believe the world needs many more startups; there are many more success stories to be told and written. The only word of caution to the founders is seek professional help in managing the challenges that come along the way.
“You can talk with a close friend or relative about what’s troubling you; it’s not the same as professionally-trained experienced psychologist who knows exactly what kind of help you need – Dr. Prerna Kohli.”
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About Dr. Prerna Kohli
She is a 100 women Achievers Award Winner (2016) from the Honorable President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee
Dr. Prerna Kohli is a Clinical Psychologist, a Public Speaker, a Workshop Facilitator and a Holistic Practitioner. She offers Heart-based workshops and lectures that focus on Life Balance, Self-awareness and Inner Peace. Dedicated to sharing her knowledge and compassion with others, Prerna blends intuitive wisdom with solid understanding, creating a powerful holistic approach, specializing in the areas of Emotional change.
Dr. Prerna Kohli is a leading Psychologist in India and counsels professional on work related stresses.
