- Introduction
Setting up a start-up can be a cumbersome process. During the initial years Start-up entrepreneurs may experience rational as well as irrational fears, which is definitely more than normal for the human beings. These irrational fears often termed as insecurities and could proof to be fatal to the growth of the start-ups. Further such insecurities could potentially lead to stress and anxiety among the entrepreneurs thereby affecting their growth and development.[1]
- Insecurities faced by Start-ups
Start-up founders face terrible psychological challenges while establishing their business. These challenges primarily attach the emotional side of the founders and are different from the regulatory or economic challenges faced by the start-ups. The following list provides for some of the major insecurities faced by the Start-ups.
Fear that the venture may not be successful
Entrepreneurs have no clue what to anticipate in your initial days, months, or years when he or she start with a company concept, assemble your dream team, and begin seeking for an investor.
Hence when one decides to become an entrepreneur, one must be willing to take risks, work hard, and have a strong belief in your concept. Furthermore, sophisticated technologies such as machine learning, combined with big data analytics, will make one’s voyage into a successful venture more predictable and sensible.
Emotional Attachment to the Start-up
This may be referred to as the “I am my company syndrome” since founders frequently blur the line between themselves and their businesses, they tend to take everything that happens in the firm personally, even when a large staff is at work. Many people become divorced from their own needs, separated from real life, and experiencing the emotional roller coaster of the company as a personal adventure as they create their businesses.
Experts advise that one should develop a separate personality from the firm. This entails developing other aspects of one’s life, such as raising a family, volunteering for a charity, playing music, or bricolage. It is critical to feel successful in areas other than employment.
Financial Risk
In addition to the financial risks that founders and investors assume, they are often the first to go without pay and invest a major amount of their assets in their businesses. In a scenario where corporate failure can also lead to financial ruin, this causes a great deal of financial stress and anxiety. While this circumstance can be motivating if handled appropriately, the threshold for it to become negative is readily crossed, putting us, as entrepreneurs, at emotional and financial risk. Founders who have crossed that threshold may be stressed and unable to focus on what the company requires, bringing their worst fears to fruition.
Anxiety
Anxiety feeds off of what means most to us, thus it’s only natural that it affects our career path. Anxiety can arise from not knowing when a continuous revenue will arrive or when the business will become lucrative. Many entrepreneurs find it difficult to function properly since they are continuously concerned about their businesses. They may second-guess their judgments and overthink worst-case scenarios because to their drive to succeed. Anxiety, like stress, can evolve into a bad behaviour pattern that becomes a burden, draining our emotions and wasting time, energy, and resources that we need to run our business.
Uncertainty
Life’s uncertainty can leave us with a pit in our stomachs and a heavy weight on our shoulders. All of our anxieties about the future — the what-ifs, whens, and hows – manifest as doubts and insecurities. Because we need to create a sense of certainty to handle anxiety in our lives, our brains frequently design false outcomes for these situations.
Because volatility is common in the early months of a new organization, the capacity to envision the future and expect job security is sometimes more difficult to attain for founders.
Isolation
When entrepreneurs establish a company, they often have a million chores to accomplish in order to realize their idea. They often spend less time with family, friends, and significant others as a result of this, and many are also forced to migrate. As a natural response to an emergency, we are prone to doubling the quantity of work we take on as the company’s stress level rises. This behavior has a cascading effect on us, muting our supporting relationships and lowering our ability to deal with stress. Isolation can also take other forms, such as feeling alone or unsupported when pursuing an atypical career route.
Imposter Syndrome
Many founders are afraid of being exposed as frauds, as if they don’t belong there or aren’t entirely capable of completing their objectives. Despite evidence to the contrary, those who suffer from Imposter Syndrome believe they are frauds who do not deserve what they have accomplished. As a result, we may wrongly believe that our success is due to luck or that we have deceived others into believing we are more brilliant than we believe we are. We can place too much blame for failures in the same way that we can place too much responsibility for our successes. This causes feelings of shame and isolation, as well as a reluctance to seek help, which can lead to depression.
Burnout and overloading
Founders can easily fall into a never-not-working mentality, foregoing opportunities for leisure, fun, and connection, and resulting in sleep deprivation, over-caffeination, and emotional disengagement. Managing the pressure and the emotions that come with it can be difficult. It’s a talent we’ll need to hone throughout the journey, because just as a rubber band breaks when it’s stretched too far, we may break ourselves if our emotions and behaviors aren’t properly regulated. Burnout feels like you’ve just finished three triathlons and are unable to rise from the mental and physical tiredness.
Quitting a full time job
Being self-employed is uncertain, thus it’s understandable that quitting a steady job is the most frightening experience for a novice entrepreneur. Developing your own company entails accepting responsibility and being in charge of your own destiny. Consider the difference between wondering what might have happened if you had pursued your passion and doing a fantastic job living out your dream.
Conclusion
Building a company brings with it a lot of hardships to endure, problems to solve, feelings to manage, behaviours to avoid, risks to mitigate, and other things that are not listed here. But don’t worry – overcoming them is not an impossible task. It’s highly recommended that you identify and understand them before they take a negative impact on your life.
[1] https://www.eu-startups.com/2019/07/the-startup-grind-why-starting-a-business-is-stressful-and-can-even-be-depressing/
