Founder Burnout: Recognition and Recovery

Burnout isn't just being tired. It's the inability to care about things you used to care about. For founders, this is particularly dangerous because your caring is the company's fuel.

The Signs

Dreading work you used to enjoy. Cynicism about your customers, team, or product. Physical symptoms—insomnia, headaches, persistent fatigue. Increasing emotional distance from outcomes. Fantasies about quitting that feel like relief rather than loss.

If you recognize three or more of these, you're probably burned out. Not "at risk"—actually there.

What Causes It

Sustained overwork is part of it, but not the whole story. Burnout more often comes from lack of progress, lack of control, or values conflict. Working hard toward something you believe in is energizing. Working hard toward something that feels pointless or misaligned is depleting.

Recovery

There's no quick fix. Vacation helps but doesn't solve it. What actually works: reducing workload to sustainable levels, reconnecting with why you started, rebuilding boundaries, and sometimes therapy to process the accumulated stress.

For some founders, recovery means stepping back from the CEO role. For others, it means changing what the company does or how it operates. The path depends on what caused the burnout.

Prevention

Sustainable pace from the start. Regular time completely away from work. Relationships outside the startup. Physical health basics. Periodic honest assessment of whether you still want what you're building.