How to Recover After a Failed Startup

Just as with any human relationship that comes to an abrupt end (or not so abrupt at times) certain events in our lives will require us to take a step back, heal our wounds, take some time and recover before we venture out again into the unknown.

Typically, when startup founders make the tough decision to not continue forward with their business, it’s because resources have been depleted and there is no clear sign of progress ahead. It’s a tough call to make, but an important one as going too long and too far without proper supplies typically does not boast well for anyone in the group.

In 2019, after 3 long years of engineering, planning and trial and error, my startup came to a sudden end. It didn’t hit a wall, there was just no more road left to walk on. Our financial resources were running low and, more importantly, my financial resources were non-existent. And the rest of the team was also having to make unwanted adjustments as we headed towards uncharted waters.

There is a fair amount of damage that comes with starting up your own company. Families can become fractured, friendships can end, finances can become depleted, careers suddenly halt and then once the roller coaster is over, you have to find your way back to normal life somehow. At least, whatever the current definition of normal is. Sometimes normal at 35 years of age is different than normal at 30.

It’s been over a year now since I handed over the keys to the office and things aren’t quite back to normal just yet, but they are getting better slowly and surely. Here’s what I’m doing currently to heal up and come back stronger for the potential next phase. Because it’s never quite “over” per say. It’s just “not right now”.

Startup life can be addicting to some. The daily unknowns mixed in with engineering, networking and getting to role-play this character that we call an entrepreneur. It’s funner than most 9 to 5’s, that is for sure.

You can imagine that after 3 years of doing it daily, I didn’t really know how to do anything else. All I wanted to do was to get to work on my next big idea. To put together another team and to take everything that I had just learned and not repeat mistakes. So I did.

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