The Two Startup Emotions Euphoria and Terror

The emotional experience of being a startup founder is rarely a stable, middle ground. It is a violent swing between two extreme poles: euphoria and terror.

• Euphoria: The feeling that you are building the greatest business of all time. This comes when you're booking massive contracts, hiring rapidly, getting positive press, and seeing exponential growth. It's the feeling of being on top of the world.

• Terror: The feeling that the company is doomed and you are going to die. This comes when the market crashes, you can't raise money, your largest customer goes bankrupt, and you're weeks away from running out of cash. It's the feeling of waking up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night.

As Marc Andreessen quipped, "You only ever experience two emotions: euphoria and terror. And I find that lack of sleep enhances them both."

This emotional volatility is a core part of The Hard Thing About Hard Things. A key skill for a founder is to manage their own psychology through these extreme swings, making rational decisions even when gripped by terror and staying grounded even when experiencing euphoria.

Tags: #founder #mindset #psychology #startups #emotions #resilience #leadership