How I battle loneliness and anxiety every day as a solo founder

Photo credit: Ben Blennerhassett.

Priyanka is a star contributor for Tech in Asia and publishes exclusive, high-value content that serves the Asian tech community. Read more from star contributors here.

I often ask myself:

“Are you sure you’re doing the right thing?”

“Would my chances of success have been higher with an experienced co-founder?”

“Can I handle this shit on my own?”

“Should I quit now?”

These thoughts are just part of the biggest challenge of being a solo founder: the loneliness you feel that can cripple your business. Coping with this hurdle has made me much stronger, and I hope you come out victorious like me in this battle.

My story

I started my startup, iScribblers, on my own. But before that, I was a freelance content writer. While working on a project, I met a communications manager from one of my clients. We became good friends within a month and, driven by a common vision to start a business, we decided to become co-founders.

But 15 days into it, and we had already begun fighting about everything. Should we opt for a co-working space or our own office? Who should visit the client’s office? Who would be the better hire? How should a campaign be handled? Within a month, he quit.

Looking back now, I realize that we didn’t understand each other very well. All we knew was that we both wanted to start a business. We had neither respect nor trust for each other.

So, I started the business as a solo founder, which according to Y Combinator co-founder Paul Graham, is a big reason why startups fail.

As I look back on this two-year journey, things are good. But I can’t say it was always so.

The loneliness of being a single founder

There’s no rulebook on how to run a startup solo (having one would’ve saved me so much time and heartache). The freedom in making choices is endless, which makes the journey thrilling and rewarding.

My lowest point

How did I beat this loneliness?