Hey Reader,
There’s a part of the startup journey that’s brutal and rarely mentioned. The Dip. The exact opposite of the adrenaline, excitement & energy of the beginning. The Dip feels like a deep, personal struggle, and yet, it's a universal founder experience. (𝕏)
The Dip isn't burnout. That's different. It's also not procrastination. That's avoiding (the right) work. The Dip is the lag between momentum and traction. When your adrenaline has burned out but reality hasn't caught up - the results of your work aren’t coming in quick enough to maintain excitement.
You're doing everything mostly right but nothing seems to be moving forward. Small tasks feels massive and there is a total lack of energy coming back at you. You show up, do the work, and still feel like you're punching concrete. Every. Single. Day.
Ironically.... The Dip can be a good sign. You've survived long enough to meet it, that's a milestone most don't make. Not all founders who survive experience The Dip, and not all who experience The Dip survive.
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LETS GET INTO IT:
Ben Horowitz calls it “The Struggle” where everything feels like it’s on the line, and you’re constantly tested to hold on when everything in you is whispering to let it go. Peter Thiel says building something from zero to one is always unique and lonely because there’s no roadmap. A perpetual dip.
Procrastination during The Dip isn’t laziness (it might be) - it’s often self-preservation, your brain holding back from further taxing itself. Procrastination may be a red flag but might also be masking something bigger, fear of failure, feeling overwhelmed, not knowing where to start. In all scenarios this is your brain sending as clear a signal as it can. It needs a recalibration. Maybe listen?
You have to get through this, work like your life depends on it. It might. It did for us in ‘99.
Why This Happens.
Your brain is literally working against you. That initial dopamine rush of having all the answers and feeling in control and putting in the high performance hours is just rocket fuel. It’s what creates the initial launch but was never meant to power the whole journey.
The Dip happens when that dopamine falls away, but you haven’t yet built the muscle memory that make this new reality feel normal. You’re caught between what was and what will be.
Sound familiar? Everything feels harder than it should. You’re going through the motions, mechanically executing tasks. The small wins don’t have the same impact. You’re questioning everything.
What To Do Now….
- Acknowledge It: This isn’t weakness. It’s part of your founder journey, just a part that no one talks about. Name it. Own it. Stop pretending you’re fine. It's not fine.
- Protect Your Energy: Sleep isn’t optional. Exercise isn’t negotiable. Eat real food. Your body’s fighting a war. Feed it accordingly.
There is always a move. There is always a solution.
~~~ The easy advice here would be to find your center, find what excited you at the beginning, find your roots, take a break, go for a run, eat more berries, embrace your ikigai, re-anchor yourself. Cool. Sure. If that’s all it took, it wouldn’t be a dip, it would be a small divot in between having a bad day and eating some berries. ~~~
Start with these 4 things:
- Change your success metrics. (Secretly) Adjust the expectations of what you can achieve. Clean your desk, have one call, send four emails, walk for 15 minutes. Whatever it takes. Humble yourself with some achievable metrics.
- Break the Pattern. Insert something new into your routine a tangible change that creates some, tiny, bit, of, forward, momentum. Power hour of emails first thing, writing tomorrow’s battle plan before bed, blocking your calendar so you have some peace. The actual new thing doesn’t matter, the point is to disrupt your current shitty pattern and creatie a new one. Athlete training.
- Get back in traffic. Most founders in The Dip isolate. It’s the worst thing you can do. Go to a startup meetup, even if you hate the idea before you even arrive. Just do something.
- Wartime CEO mindset. As Horowitz says, wartime CEOs can’t afford to waver. They take the hard steps with conviction, they do the work, they do not fall, and they win.
The Dip isn’t something you overcome, you have to grow through it. Every founder who’s built something meaningful has gone through it, most go through it multiple times.
This isn’t about who’s smarter or works harder. It’s about who accepts The Dip as part of the journey rather than fighting it as an obstacle.
The Dip is testing your commitment to your vision and your commitment to not fail.
How badly do you want this?
As always, if I can be of service, feel free to grab time.
LFG.
-- James
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