Confessions·Dec 31, 20164
First-time founder in a small town. I'm worried I won't be able to make the leap from raising $25k-$50k checks from angels (which I'm pretty good at) to raising $3M all at once from seed/micro VCs. Everything is taking so much longer than I thought.
Confessions·Dec 21, 20163
I'm resting and vesting for one more year. Sold startup and have a good salary, but what I do doesn't move the needle. It is depressing. I have side-projects and earn some money with them. Want to jump ship, but I have too much invested there.
Confessions·Dec 15, 20165
I'm scared. We're a bootstrapped logistics startup, and we don't have enough in the bank to fuel the fleet of vans. We're putting todays fuel (18 vehicles) on my personal card. Otherwise, we're out of business.
Confessions·Dec 14, 201614
I am a full stack engineer. Without any funding I have been working on my app for nearly a year, 50-60 hour weeks, and it is finally complete. Now I find myself very depressed. I am simply afraid to release it. What if it fails? I can't face my fear.
Confessions·Dec 14, 20167
I'm desperate to become an entrepreneur but ive been lacking business/ product ideas. For those entrepreneurs out there, how did you come up with ideas & how did you know which idea to pursue?
Confessions·Dec 7, 20169
I am so depressed I can't get out of bed. My startup is out of money and I can't keep hustling. I'm afraid I won't be able to pay rent, but I am so depressed that it is hard to get a job. Antidepressants don't help.
Confessions·Dec 2, 20168
Startup is slowly burning all my savings. We keep missing our revenue targets by small percentages. The next quarter we miss, we’re dead.
Confessions·Nov 9, 20165
I work for a startup that's having trouble raising additional funding, I'm concerned that it's a sign of the future. We have revenue, but not enough to support our burn. I want to stay here, but I'm scared.
Confessions·Nov 7, 20164
Professionally, I wouldn’t have it any other way. I have learned to create business models, self sustaining system of processes that make money. I have learned sales. On a personal front, I will turn 30 next year. Never had the time for a girlfriend. Somehow regret that the best years of my life were spent cooped up inside the house when I could have been out chasing women and traveling if I had went the regular job route.
Confessions·Nov 3, 20164
Started a connected health startup … bootstrapped all the way to a completely technology ready medical device. Business and value props too … Heck did a study to show users were successful with our product. And still not a stinking penny from an investor.
Confessions·Oct 31, 20168
All my life I’ve defied structure and authority. It drove me to Silicon Valley to become an entrepreneur. Now I hate and defy the Silicon Valley culture too.
Confessions·Oct 25, 20163
I can’t work alone … I’m crippled at even the thought of working alone. Sometimes I think my main motivation for working is that I can show others how good I am. I can work endlessly when i’m working with someone.
Confessions·Oct 24, 20169
I went and told our accelerator that I was dealing with depression. They now want to "part ways" and kick us out of the accelerator under the premise of "me getting better." Fuck accelerators. Fuck this corporate one.
Confessions·Oct 19, 20164
I finally no longer want to kill myself. Running and doing a startup is hard, so dont take everything too personally. If you have depression issues, get help right away like I did. You are worth more than your startup.
Confessions·Oct 11, 20167
Am going crazy. Cash has dried up. I can’t sleep and keep thinking about my startup and the consequences this month. I am scared. I am anxious. I wake up in the middle of the night sweating and my heart beating so fast I am scared am getting a heart attack. I don’t know what to do and whom to ask. Despite all this I still have to pretend enthusiasm and energy around my employees. My mind is filled with all kinds of negative thoughts and I might be depressed but don’t know how to get out of this situation.
Confessions·Sep 28, 20167
I'm tired. Everyday is a struggle to get out of bed. My start up seems to be promising from the response we get from customers and investors, but I feel like I'm in over my head. I'm tired of being broke. I'm just tired.
Confessions·Sep 22, 20166
If I could give my equity back to Techstars, I would. I got scared into not giving it back in the timeframe they give us to make a decision. There has been very little support for the company post program.
Confessions·Sep 21, 20165
My startup is going well, but the more progress we make the more I learn my weaknesses and limitations as a human and a solo founder. I am not sure I’ll be cut out for this for the long term. The hard parts are just too hard. I am too flawed.
Confessions·Sep 20, 20163
Starting a startup has taught me to be ok with how much the world really doesn’t need me. This use to depress me, but now I find life, or struggle, or the the threat of the end of my business, kind of amusing.
Confessions·Sep 20, 20164
Dumb VC : Your tech is pure sci-fi, your market is 85B$++, you have strong traction and your team is made of rockstars, we acknowledge all that. But the excel projection you made up is not cool enough. We won’t invest. Me : FUUUUUUUUUUUUU
Confessions·Sep 15, 20162
Somedays I genuinely believe we’re disrupting our industry. Other days I genuinely believe we’ve created a glorified spreadsheet. The worst part is, it seems like most people just want spreadsheets.
Confessions·Sep 13, 20164
I’ve been a startup exec for 10+ years, on my 9th, and I can emphatically say I have absolutely no idea what a startup CEO actually f’ing does.
Confessions·Sep 10, 20164
My co-founder just got a job and didn’t tell a couple of people who are working effectively for free right now. I didn’t even knowIs that right or is that wrong?
Confessions·Sep 7, 20162
Met with a dumb VC.Bragged about having “ELLE” (the magazine) as a first customer.VC responded “Why choose a 2nd Tier brand for a first customer ? Bad strategy. You definitely should have chosen Chanel or LVMH instead of ELLE !”.NEED.TO.KILL.NOW !
Confessions·Jul 20, 20165
I have an idea that I’m passionate about but there are a million unknowns and I feel like I will be laughed out of a meeting with investors I have coming up because I know that I don’t have nearly enough business knowledge to tell if the idea sucks.
Confessions·Jun 23, 20161
My design cofounder ghosted on me and my other technical cofounders. Four of us are living together in an apartment in Dallas, TX. We noticed that our design cofounder hadn’t returned home since yesterday and he wiped the computer at his desk.
Confessions·Jun 21, 20164
I worked my ass off for almost two years to get to where I am now. My business is profitable, we’re hiring new people, getting new customers, … and moving to US to get some of the market there, plus a possible investment to expand faster. People are congratulating me, but deep down inside I am scared shitless! I’m afraid to make the next steps as I’m feeling I might loose what I have built until now. I just wish someone would take everything from me. Having things makes me scared because now I have something to lose. Life never seemed harder …
Confessions·Jun 10, 20165
A VC passed on our beautiful vision, because they didn’t like the early data. A year later we’re growing like crazy, both cofounders get an add on linkedin from him out of the blue. What I want to say and never will: you are a piece of snot and I will never touch your money with a stick.
Confessions·Apr 13, 201611
Solo founder 2 years into my first startup; I’ve made SO much progress, but still not a sustainable business. Lost all my friends because I can’t afford my former lifestyle. I feel incompetent, lost, and like I ruin everything. Really hate myself.
Confessions·Apr 7, 201613