Startups are hard. For most people, it will be the hardest thing they’ll ever willingly do in their lives.

Don’t just take my word for it. Here is Jensen Huang, the Founder & CEO of NVIDIA when asked if he would do it all over again.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SauAqaWD7fk

“I wouldn’t do it …. Building a company is a million times harder than I expected it to be”

At its core, building a startup is a paradoxical experience. You have to operate like your startup is the most important thing in your life; even though it is not. There will be a never ending demand to do more. And you will do it, at the expense of what truly matters — health, family, and friends.

After seven years of building tact.ai, I decided to step down. A choice made out of necessity not desire. I was simply too sick to continue on. Back then, I believed this was the only way. Despite the pain, there was pride in the perseverance.

Would I do it all over again? Absolutely. But with the benefit of hindsight, I’d approach it differently.

In a followup post I’ll share what I have learned through personal experiences and watching others about how to navigate startup life better.