
Addressing Founder Depression – YC Hackathon project - tqn
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Sn82CL2YjFMgZdu2o2sWKFBoGH2VGihQ7LfnD6-kGv0/viewform
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penguinlinux
I've been reading about founder's depression. Why do we have to label it as if
this is something that is affecting founders. Depression affects everyone,
from a single mother who works hard to support her family and has no time for
herself. From the dad that works hard and has to put kids through school, put
food on the table, the person who works behind the counter at your favorite
burger place who works hard and can't pay for his/her school because they
don't make enough money.

I suffer from depression and I am not a founder we all have issues so why do
we have to label this depression and founder's depression. These people are no
different that anyone else just different problems.

seems like we should actually be doing something to help people with
depression and not just a certain group just because they are founders. After
all depression is the same regardless if you are a founder, a manager, a
business owner, a student.

~~~
cyrusshepard
I wholeheartedly see your point, but I believe the well-intentioned objective
is to gain perspective from like-minded individuals who can empathize. Much
like a support group. Depressed alcoholics share a common bond not only around
depression, but the specific problems associated with alcohol. Founders often
find themselves lonely with their problems and want to connect with others
with similar experiences.

~~~
juneyham
This answer encapsulates what we want to do really well!

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7Figures2Commas
It's hard to criticize well-intentioned efforts, but I think it's worth noting
that there are a lot of assumptions being made about "founder depression."

Depression is often confused with anxiety disorders, and complicating matters,
it's not uncommon for these to be co-occurring. A lot of the symptoms
described in the recent posts by Sam Altman and TechCrunch on "founder
depression" actually sound more like symptoms of anxiety disorders than they
do symptoms of clinical depression.

Before an individual jumps to the conclusion that he or she is suffering from
depression, it would be wise to seek help from a mental health professional
who can make a proper diagnosis.

~~~
juneyham
Hi there, I'm on the YC Hacks team working on this. I agree that "founder
depression" is somewhat vague and potentially confusing in describing what
we're doing. The intent is simply to anonymously connect people who are going
through similar situations, whether positive or negative, in order to edify
and support one another.

Based on both anecdotal evidence and recent articles, it seems as though
people in the startup community often don't have many compassionate outlets
they can leverage to talk to others who are either going through something
similar or have gone through something similar before. By finding someone
relatable to share experiences or learnings, they can release some of the
pent-up emotion or frustration that they have and be able to move forward.

Furthermore, this is not designed to replace working with a mental health
professional--not in the slightest! This is more purpose-built around finding
peers who have the right context to really understand or comment on what
you're going through and empathize. This isn't meant to be a counseling
service.

~~~
7Figures2Commas
> Based on both anecdotal evidence and recent articles, it seems as though
> people in the startup community often don't have many compassionate outlets
> they can leverage to talk to others who are either going through something
> similar or have gone through something similar before.

There's a huge difference between providing an outlet for startup founders to
commiserate with each other and providing an outlet for individuals who
believe they're suffering from depression to obtain support. Again, it's hard
to criticize well-intentioned efforts, but my (hopefully) constructive
criticism is that you seem to be blurring the lines. You _can_ build a useful
founder support network without focusing on depression.

Clinical depression is a disorder that has a variety of causes. Some of them
are social or psychological, but there may also be biochemical causes. A
startup founder's depression may have less to do with his or her startup
experience than one might think, in which case focusing on this part of the
person's life could be more harmful than helpful.

An individual who may be suffering from clinical depression (or an anxiety
disorder) should be encouraged to obtain a professional diagnosis, and
treatment should be guided by a professional whom that individual trusts.

> This isn't meant to be a counseling service.

Easily said, but harder to enforce. Case in point: one of the services you're
considering using, 7 Cups of Tea, is positioned as an online
counseling/therapy portal.

~~~
juneyham
> There's a huge difference between providing an outlet for startup founders
> to commiserate with each other and providing an outlet for individuals who
> believe they're suffering from depression to obtain support. Again, it's
> hard to criticize well-intentioned efforts, but my (hopefully) constructive
> criticism is that you seem to be blurring the lines. You can build a useful
> founder support network without focusing on depression.

We're definitely on the same page and our goal is to do the former rather than
the latter. Describing it as a founder depression product was ultimately
incorrect and we're moving away from that description here at YC Hacks. I
definitely appreciate the distinction and your constructive criticism.

> Easily said, but harder to enforce. Case in point: one of the services
> you're considering using, 7 Cups of Tea, is positioned as an online
> counseling/therapy portal.

Also a great observation -- with regard to 7 Cups of Tea, the company is an
inspiration point but we are not using them and we don't believe our service
is competitive to their offering.

~~~
7cupsoftea
Would love to work with you on this :). If interested, shoot me an email at
info@7cupsoftea.com.

~~~
juneyham
Will do! We're hard at work right now but will reach out.

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gearoidoc
I think a serious contribution to Founder Depression is that we're always
expected to be _on_. If anyone asks about your startup you're _supposed_ to be
super-motivated, encouraged to give off the appearance that everythings a-ok
in case word might get out to investors/competitors/etc.

The reality is that some weeks/months really, really suck. If more of us
recognised and accepted this fact then I think it'd go a long way to
combatting FD.

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MAFreemanMD
I would like to introduce myself to this group as a former founder and CEO,
psychiatrist, and mentor at the UCSF accelerator. My team includes a
psychology professor at UC Berkeley and a research assistant. After the
suicides of several inspiring entrepreneurs we decided to study the
relationship between human factors - including mood - and a variety of
outcomes including success/failure, and mental health issues. Over 400
entrepreneurs responded to our recent survey and we are now analyzing the
data. We are finding meaningful results that we hope to use to educate
entrepreneurs and to develop effective mental health risk reduction /
performance enhancement resources for our community. Many of the questions
raised in this conversation should be pretty well addressed by this research,
and I will be happy to keep this community posted. Michael A. Freeman, MD,
Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, UCSF and Mentor, The Entrepreneurship Center
at UCSF.

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MAFreemanMD
Contact information for the following post: Michael.Freeman@marincounty.net;
www.MichaelAFreemanMD.com Our research is suggesting that there are actually
some significant differences between the way mood spectrum conditions manifest
in entrepreneurs vs. a more general population. Will have much more to report
about this later. Regarding the relentlessly upbeat stereotype of founders,
this image is in denial about "the downside of being up."

I would like to introduce myself to this group as a former founder and CEO,
psychiatrist, and mentor at the UCSF accelerator. My team includes a
psychology professor at UC Berkeley and a research assistant. Michael A.
Freeman, MD, Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, UCSF and Mentor, The
Entrepreneurship Center at UCSF.

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Mahn
> We want to create a safe place for founders to share their specific issues
> and solicit support and advice from fellow founders or those who can
> empathize.

Sounds similar to
[https://startupsanonymous.com](https://startupsanonymous.com)

~~~
spuiszis
Have you guys checked out Dev Pressed
([http://devpressed.com/](http://devpressed.com/))?

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jonathanmalkin
Contact me asap. I explored the same idea last year including an interview
series with prominent entrepreneurs experiencing depression.

Jonathan.d.malkin@gmail.com

