How should founders handle emotional ups and downs?

Mike Cannon-Brookes

CEO and Co-Founder · Atlassian

Find your energy

Mike Cannon-Brookes recommends founders figure out what gives them energy and do more of it, saying it's hard to sustain the energy if you don't enjoy creating products or services.

Adam Neumann

Founder and CEO · Flow

Keep believing

Adam Neumann says he kept believing, because belief is measured when things are difficult, not when everything is working.

Angelique Taylor

Founder · Addmaple

Review wins daily

Angelique Taylor says that when high moments are rare and low days dominate, all she did was write down her wins and review them every day, adding there's no reason you can't do that daily or multiple times a day.

Edward Kim

Co-founder and Head of Technology · Gusto

Check your ego

Edward Kim says founders should check their ego and trust that everyone on a good co-founding team is doing what they can to make the company successful.

Donnie McGrath

Founder · Lift Sports Management

Stay steady

Donnie McGrath advises keeping a steady beat and not getting too high or too low, because "this too shall pass" and life is a pendulum of highs and lows.

The answer starts at 18:19.

Ben Erez

Co-Founder · Insider Loops

Name the feeling

Ben Erez says the first step is for a founder to name the feeling, because if one partner feels this way and stays silent, it infects their interactions.

AF

Andrew Feldman

Founder and CEO · Cerebras

Naive can‑do attitude

Andrew Feldman says founders need a naive, can-do attitude to attempt building a company again, because the scar tissue built up from past ventures would otherwise stop them from doing it.

Scarlett Stanhope

Founder & Financial Empowerment Coach · The Biz Hippie | Empowered Abundance

Practice gratitude

Scarlett Stanhope says founders should practice gratitude, since it helps them stay connected to and appreciate every part of the journey so they can ride the emotional waves more seamlessly.

Sarah Buchner

Founder & CEO · Trunk Tools, Inc.

Seek therapy

Sarah Buchner says she has been in therapy since age 18 and calls it invaluable for staying sane through whatever she's dealing with, and says knowing yourself and your patterns is the best thing to become a better manager.

The answer starts at 13:45.

David Ko

CEO and Board Member · Calm

Show vulnerability

David Ko says leaders should show a vulnerable side and talk about their own stories, since that can make it more open and safe for others to have the conversation.

Sridhar Ramaswamy

Chief Executive Officer · Snowflake

Accept failures

Sridhar Ramaswamy says founders should accept failures and accept that they're human, while internalizing that they are more than their failures, so they believe in life and act with purpose.

Landon Cooley

CEO, Co-Founder at Pest Share · Pest Share

Embrace chaos

Landon Cooley says being in a startup is hard and is what you sign up for, so founders have to love the chaos and challenges; he says he thrives off the fulfilling hard.

Sasha Orloff

Member of Staff · Accrual

Stay strong, optimistic

Sasha Orloff says founders should stay strong and optimistic, power through tough times, and build a support network, since founders can have their best and worst day in the same day and the ups and downs balance out.

Gyve Safavi

Co-Founder & CEO · SURI

Invest in cofounder relationship

Gyve Safavi says founders should invest in their cofounder relationship and figure out their dynamics, calling it one of the fundamental things she would tell any business starting out.

Kathryn Minshew

Founder/Chief Troublemaker

Get a coach

Kathryn Minshew says founders should get a coach—someone trusted, one level deeper than just talking to you—because otherwise your blind spots become their blind spots.

Jay Shetty

Co-Founder · Juni Adaptogenic Sparkling Tea

Embrace pain, push

Jay Shetty says to stay in the painful third stage and trudge through it rather than pull your parachute, because staying in pain forces you to learn how to get out of it.

Rochelle Carrington

Emotional Blueprinting · Emotional Blueprinting

Emotion‑anchoring

Rochelle Carrington says entrepreneurs should anchor a helpful emotion before important tasks by reliving a past moment of that feeling, because emotion drives performance more than most people realize.