It’s lonely at the top! Snapdeal co-founder Kunal Bahl talks about dealing with loneliness, 3 ways in which start-up bosses can prioritise mental health
lonely journey.
As many startup founders deviate from the ‘safe, tried and tested’ way of salaried jobs, they can often grapple with terrible loneliness and a sense of isolation from society at large.
Kunal Bahl, the co-founder of Snapdeal and Titan Capital, recently shared an anecdote on how he too was not exempt from entrepreneurial loneliness.
Taking to LinkedIn, Bahl wrote that many entrepreneurs go through a rough patch and no one reaches out to them, especially if they are perceived to have made it in life. “There are times in a founder's journey when either they are still early in their venture and nobody knows them or when they are going through a rough patch, and people feel they no longer need to know them. Responsiveness of others when a founder reaches out to them can vacillate quite significantly with whether he/she is perceived to be successful or not at this moment,” he wrote.
He went on to thank those who had supported him unconditionally throughout the years, even when he was wading through tough tides. “ I have always fondly remembered and appreciated those who were responsive when one was unknown and especially when one was going through a rough patch. Those people are the gems and one should stay close to them. They believe in you, not your circumstances,” he concluded.
It Can Be Lonely At The Top
A 2018 Forbes report revealed how loneliness — the feeling of being isolated from the world, and feeling hopeless and unloved is sadly becoming rampant among entrepreneurs.
Citing a Harvard Business Review, the report stated that numerous business people, especially first-time entrepreneurs can experience feelings of debilitating loneliness. In 2015, Michael A. Freeman, Clinical Professor of
