Treat Yo' Self!
If you spend any time on social media, you’ll quickly realize that there are as many different perspectives on what the founder journey is supposed to be as their are actual founders. On one end of the spectrum, there are the founders for whom a startup is a means to an end. For them, the journey is one of 4-Hour Work Weeks, automations and optimizations. The goal isn’t to build something big, so much as it is to finance a full life with the minimum work possible. At the other end of the spectrum are the devotees of hustle culture. For these founders, startups are all about sacrifices, doing Hard Things and never giving up. Their goal is nothing short of changing the world, and they believe that there are no shortcuts in such a pursuit.
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to believe that there’s a space in the middle. If your goal is to build a world-changing company, I am firmly of the belief that hard work is essential and there are no shortcuts. You simply can’t work remotely for 3 days a week, taking breaks whenever you feel like it to surf and expect to build a billion-dollar company. (You can absolutely finance a full life with such an approach, but this blog isn’t for those founders).
For the founders who are genuinely trying to change the world — the founders for whom the goal is to build a world-changing, multi-billion dollar company — I believe that it’s essential that you put yourself in the best position to run an epic, decade-long marathon. Because if you are ultimately successful, that’s what you will have done. But to survive that long, you need to treat yo’ self.
If you have no idea what I’m talking about, it’s a reference to an episode of Parks and Rec titled “Pawnee Rangers”. Two of the show’s main characters, Donna (Retta) and Tom (Aziz Ansari), embark on their annual “Treat Yo’ Self” shopping extravaganza, where they give themselves permission to buy and do whatever they want without feeling guilty.
The pair invites along a third character, Ben (Adam Scott), in the hope of cheering him up. As the episode progresses and Ben fails to relax, Donna and Tom realize that treating yourself might look different for Ben. They encourage him to find his own way to enjoy something without guilt, which leads to him purchasing a movie-quality Batman costume.
I’m not suggesting that you necessarily hold in everything and wait until one day a year to treat yo’ self (though that could certainly be fun). What I am suggesting is that allowing yourself the space to enjoy life during your entrepreneurial journey is not only is something you deserve, but it’s something that can make you a more successful entrepreneur.
For most people, starting a new company is an exercise in frugality. You start off bootstrapping, perhaps with a bit of money from family and friends along the way. And you have to make it last. Over time, this scarcity mindset can get deeply entrenched — particularly for first time founders — and it’s hard to undo.
As an example: shortly after we raised our Series A at Aster Data, travel picked up for many of us as we started to grow revenue and had to make frequent sales trips (this was long before selling over Zoom was a thing). Despite the fact that we had raised more than $5M, we frequently took brutally inconvenient flights with multiple layovers in order to save $10 or $20. It was only when we hired our first sales rep that he looked us in the eyes and asked, “what are you guys doing to yourselves???”
If you sit back and take a long view of the entrepreneurial journey, not only is it important that you stay focused and put in consistent, concerted effort. It’s also essential that you take care of yourself and line yourself up for long-term success. Through that lens, some things that might be considered unnecessary or “luxuries” not only can be justified, but can actually increase your chances of winning.
Here are some examples:
For the home:
A good mattress / pillows
A comfy chair for working or reading
Blackout curtains for your bedroom
A good shower head (Seriously — how many of us lived with a crappy shower head and were frustrated every time we took a shower? You can get a really nice one for $50-100 and it takes about 3 minutes to install.)
High-quality knives/pots/pans if you cook a lot
If you travel frequently:
High-quality luggage that is easy/efficient for packing
Noise-cancelling earphones for the plane
A credit card that gives you access to airport lounges
Plus grooming, massages, clothing and more
This isn’t to say that you should suddenly go out and blow all of your money, but a few nice things can make a huge difference when you’re working 80+ hours a week on your startup.
So in between your startup hustle, treat yo’ self!