Startup Life: Surviving and Thriving in a Relationship with an Entrepreneur

CHAPTER FOUR

STARTUP COMPANY LIFE

Creating and growing a company is extremely difficult. As an entrepreneur you have choices about the kind of environment you want to work in, the culture you’re creating for your team members, and the tempo of your work. While you don’t have complete control over culture since this is a collaborative endeavor, as the founder you have great influence over this aspect of your business. It’s worth thinking hard about your core values, how you communicate and implement them, and how you live them.

STARTUPS ARE HARD

There will be times as an entrepreneur when your schedule will be insane. Startups are extremely hard and unpredictable, in times of success and failure. These crazy stretches can last for a while, but they shouldn’t, and can’t, be indefinite.

As the creator of your company, you will likely feel more emotionally attached and committed to the success of your company than other people on your team. Even if you find exceptionally energetic employees, you will likely be the person waking up in the middle of the night, worrying. Ben Horowitz, a partner in the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz and a very successful entrepreneur who previously cofounded Opsware, describes this brilliantly in his blog post titled “The Struggle.”

The Struggle is when you wonder why you started the company in the first place.

The Struggle is when people ...