An Emotional Roller Coaster

It is common to hear of the emotional roller coaster in the start-up world. One day everything is going great while the next the world is collapsing in on itself. In a startup some of these nerve-wracking events are foreseen others are not.

Raising cash and launching products are planned events. These events are very difficult and are hard to get through, although knowing of these events before they happen brings at least of sense of control. Be ready for these events and you will keep your cool.

The worst part of the roller coaster is what is hiding around the bend. It is unseen and unknown and can not be prepared for. This is where everything that you risked is on the line. Nothing is safe, not your personal life, not your social life, not your friendships, not your family. Everything that can go wrong will go wrong. The world will come within an inch of destruction. This is when it is impossible to keep your head.

This previous weekend the biggest drop on the emotional roller coaster was waiting, hiding behind a bend. On Saturday life was amazing and one could not ask for anything more. Come Saturday night, life was in decay. I was dealing with some personal issues, my brother and co-founder had a possibly had a server injury to one of his knees, some members of our company were having some serious issues communication, and I was having an awkward time with some friends of mine. Four huge issues, of which any one could have been detrimental to either myself, my friends, or the company. This is what I was never be prepared for and have no way of being prepared for.

Each of these problems only magnified the others. Taken one at a time, these are not as taxing and are very survivable. Taken all at once, well that is a challenge.

So how did I survive such a crazy day? I escaped for a time. I went where no one else was. Just me and a book. The time away allowed me to recollect myself and be away from the difficulties. Coming back I was better able to deal with the situations.

Come Monday, the problems started to melt away. My personal issues were dealt with, my brother's knee was only sprained, my co-workers were working towards a solution, and I found that I was only being a fool when it came to the interactions with my friends.

This whole weekend was an unseen emotional ride that was far worse than any other I have taken. Thankfully it only lasted for 2 days. It was a long 2 days though. Raising money and launching a product are still big challenges, but after this I will not look at them the same way.