Comments on: It’s Lonely Being a Solo Founder

By: Pranav Kumar

Pranav Kumar — Thu, 09 Nov 2017 04:19:36 +0000

Very comforting article Alex. And the comment section is pure gold. I am content with
the feeling that it is not only me who is going through this struggle. kudos to all.

By: Carol Penados

Carol Penados — Thu, 02 Mar 2017 21:43:08 +0000

Great advices and I can relate so much to many of your experiences. When I ended my 3rd failed partnership I really felt bad, like I had failed, but I guess partnering is not for everybody, but in that moment I was devastated, I had invested so much energy and dreams in this last one, and besides my Faith, the thing that got me out from a hard 3-month sadness (I won’t say depression since I was never diagnosed) was exercise, I started walking for 15mins to clear my mind daily, and in 2 months I was able to reach 1 hr + 25 minutes of a video routine, I feel great. I still get doubts and those battles in my mind, but I’ve found my mind fighting back. I totally recommend doing it.

By: Gaurav Gulati

Gaurav Gulati — Fri, 09 Oct 2015 15:07:53 +0000

Very kool post, Alex. I can associate with many a things here, despite I’m only in the early stages of my startup. However, I’m glad that I already do most of the things (no notifications, working out, time with family etc) to keep my sanity in check. This is a No BS post! =))

By: Rob Mayzes

Rob Mayzes — Sat, 02 May 2015 18:47:26 +0000

Hi Alex.

Have been reading several of your posts and first just wanted to say thank you! I’m a first time solo founder and have found lots of really valuable information.

Have had a lot of weight on my shoulders the last couple of weeks and I couldn’t quite figure out why. It’s most likely the stress and anxiety of being a solo founder growing on me and this post helped me to realize that! So, yeah – thanks! 🙂

Rob

By: Bill

Bill — Thu, 26 Feb 2015 20:59:33 +0000

Thanks for the post man. Sometimes I find it so isolating I start thinking the difficulties I’m experiencing are unique to me, which is obviously ridiculous. By the way – that Al Merrick actually looks like you use it! Living by a beach and regularly catching waves is probably the one thing that has kept me going..

By: Roy

Roy — Tue, 10 Feb 2015 19:16:36 +0000

Loneliness is a very slow and painful death.

By: Roy Opata Olende

Roy Opata Olende — Thu, 09 Oct 2014 03:25:37 +0000

Thanks for sharing this, Alex. I needed to hear it.

By: François-Louis Mommens

François-Louis Mommens — Mon, 19 May 2014 16:38:58 +0000

Being a solo founder is at the same time distressing and exhilarating.

What’s helping me a lot is to have a weekly skype call with a friend of mine which is also a solo founder. We can check on each other strategy, decisions, and progress. It’s been really valuable.

I pitched to accelerator programs but after congratulating me on the product and the KPI they made it clear they won’t invest in a solo founder business. In my case I’m the CTO in search of the marketing guru.

By: Andy Detweiler

Andy Detweiler — Fri, 16 May 2014 18:46:42 +0000

Good stuff as always, Alex. On a similar plane, one of the things I must constantly remind myself – and it’s very hard — is that our vision is our vision for a reason. If it were just as easy as explaining to someone what the product/company is or will be (as well as why you founded it) and getting them to fill in the currently missing pieces, it wouldn’t be much of a vision. And it would have been completed by thousands of others at this point. There’s really no choice but to put your head down until you get to the point where people say “oh, of course” – because it’s in front of their face. But it can certainly be a lonely road — often filled with self-doubt — along the way.

By: Shweta HandaGupta

Shweta HandaGupta — Fri, 16 May 2014 15:00:53 +0000

Thanks Alex. This really resonated. The one thing I’d suggest – Do get a Coach. A good one can be what every single founder needs – the sounding board, the neutral mirror, the person who helps you doubt…and believe.

By: simpleERB

simpleERB — Fri, 16 May 2014 07:31:01 +0000

Exercise?

Gibala regimen – lot of benefit in a very little time!

“Professor Martin Gibala and his team at McMaster University in Canada have been researching high-intensity exercise for several years. Their 2009 study on students[11] uses 3 minutes for warming up, then 60 seconds of intense exercise (at 95% of VO2max) followed by 75 seconds of rest, repeated for 8–12 cycles (sometimes referred to as “The Little Method”). Subjects using this method trained 3 times per week obtained gains similar to what would be expected from subjects who did steady state (50–70% VO2max) training five times per week. While still a demanding form of training, this exercise protocol could be used by the general public with nothing more than an average exercise bike.

Gibala’s group published a less intense version of their regimen in a 2011 paper in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. This was intended as a gentler option for sedentary people who had done no exercise for over a year. It included 3 minutes of warm-up, 10 repetitions of 60-second bursts at 60% peak power (80- 95% of heart rate reserve) each followed by 60 seconds of recovery, and then a 5-minute cool-down”