"A Startup Snapshot survey conducted in Q1 2025, covering over 800 European startup founders, found that 34% had "seriously considered" leaving their CEO role in the preceding twelve months. Among those, the primary drivers were chronic sleep disruption (cited by 61%), persistent anxiety about runway (58%), and what respondents described as "identity erosion" - the sense that they had become indistinguishable from their company, with no life outside it (47%)."
"A 2024 study published in the journal PLOS ONE found that startup founders exhibited cortisol patterns comparable to those seen in emergency room physicians during peak shifts - not occasionally, but as a baseline. Elevated cortisol over months and years doesn't just feel bad. It degrades memory, impairs decision-making, and accelerates cardiovascular aging."
"The cruel irony is that the very cognitive functions founders need most - creative problem-solving, emotional regulation during negotiations, the ability to hold long-term strategic vision - are the first capacities to erode under sustained stress."
European venture capital firms now formally assess founder resilience as a due diligence category alongside traditional metrics like product-market fit and burn rate. A Q1 2025 survey of over 800 European startup founders revealed that 34% seriously considered leaving their CEO role, with chronic sleep disruption (61%), runway anxiety (58%), and identity erosion (47%) as primary drivers. Research shows startup founders experience cortisol levels comparable to emergency room physicians as a baseline, degrading memory, impairing decision-making, and accelerating cardiovascular aging. The physiological toll undermines the cognitive functions founders need most: creative problem-solving, emotional regulation, and strategic vision.
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