It turns out entrepreneurs are like CIA agents – but possibly worse. You can talk about how you spend your days, but you might as well be making stuff up – because no one truly understands you. That was the theme that stuck with me after reading entrepreneur Ali Mese’s Medium post last month called “How quitting my corporate job for my startup dream f*cked my life up.” It racked up over 300,000 views in 12 hours and is littered with comments from entrepreneurs who finally feel like someone gets it. Mese was a highly paid consultant for Bain & Company when he quit his job to found a startup, PIQERS. And suddenly, a huge disconnect appeared between him and his family, friends, and girlfriend. Both his family and friends – the ones who still hung out with him, at least – were psyched and expected him to generally start kicking ass immediately. The day after he broke the news to his parents, he got a phone call. This pattern repeated itself among his friends, who were a little more startup-savvy and talked about him becoming the next Mark Zuckerberg and raising funding. Even his girlfriend, who was incredibly supportive, didn’t understand him at times – like when he was too distracted for a kiss. This, not just the long hours, is why so many founders end up breaking up with their significant others. From the sound of it, Mese felt more than just misunderstood. Even though everyone’s expectations were unrealistic, he started feeling like he had to live up to them. In the end, entrepreneurs might have to accept that other people just won’t get it. It’s like having cancer or having kids – you can explain all you want, but someone who hasn’t gone through it won’t really, truly, deep down be able to understand. But there are thousands of people on this earth who do – which is why it’s so important to reach out to others who are going through the same experience.
