Being an entrepreneur can be a very isolating existence, especially in the early days. This definitely contributes to the emotional roller-coaster of building a startup. I hear about a lot of people who are “heads down” coding for weeks and even months at a time to get their product out there. This may be good for pushing the product along, but for your mental health its rough.
When we first have something we want to work on its incredibly exciting, but as we push forward its hard to maintain that momentum. I’ve found that collegial discourse around your project or building things in general can help maintain this. Theres a certain energy that exists among entrepreneurs that can be unlocked over a lunch conversation or a beer at an event. This energy can provide fuel for days. It gets me out of bed when I face a mountain of uncertainty of what the future holds. It makes me press on when I show my product and people ask me if I’ve seen similar services like “x”. Building a startup without this energy takes the fun out of the process.
So don’t feel bad about leaving your keyboard for an hour to go to an event or meet up with some friends. Stop thinking its an opportunity cost – the conversations you engage ultimately can push you past the thresholds where many throw the towel in. Instead embrace those occasions and realize they hold real value.
