At one point, a founder decides to go all in on his startup. When this happens, our founder usually quits his job, finds a roommate (usually another founder) and starts living of his savings. This phase is actually an amazing character builder for anyone who’s been through it and is a necessary step in an entrepreneurial journey.
So far so good.
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The problem is that some founders start to get too comfortable in it and start idolizing this Spartan way of live. They start to see it as an end rather than a mean to an end. The reason I am writing this is that I have seen it a lot in the startup community whether in Seattle or San Francisco. The only advise here is to get out of this phase as soon as possible. It is incredibly taxing on your life and I doubt this is why you signed up in being a founder in the first place.
What to do if you have a friend in this phase?
If your friend is in the lucky 1% and has an investor or a good advisor, then than there’s nothing to do there. They will tell them that there is no money in this venture and that it’s time to move on.
If they have no one to advise them, than it’s up to you. Start asking about progress, metrics, revenues and if things are not going anywhere, it is time to start to annoy them about what they are going to do next or when they will start to look for a job. They will thank you later. If you’re a significant other, then things are more tricky because you signed up to be a supportive partner. What you do not want to do is stay quiet until you cannot stand it anymore and you cross the point of no return in your relationship.