If You’re Seeking Work–Life Balance, Don’t Start a Company

Work–life balance when you’re building a startup does not exist.

In my experience, people who say otherwise are usually:

• Working inside a company.
• Running a lifestyle business.
• Have never founded.

And to be clear, I’m not saying one path has more personal value than another. Still, in recent months I’ve noticed a certain anxiety in founders I know, maybe because they feel like they’re working too much and failing to live up to the famous “work–life balance” motto.

This debate has been around a while, and I think it’s because most people don’t enjoy their work; so the word “work” is tied to effort you don’t enjoy.

Before anything else, I’ll clarify that I’m referring to building in tech, where entrepreneurship itself is a huge privilege. That’s my case: the amount of privilege I have and have had access to is enormous.

But ultimately, if building in tech isn’t imposed - it’s a choice - then it’s odd to me when a founder draws that line.

Overall, my opinion that work–life balance doesn’t exist doesn’t come from what someone told me, but from my own experience and what I see and hear every week.

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This probably sounds familiar:

• You wake up and you’re thinking about your company.
• You’re eating and you’re thinking about your company.
• You go for a walk and you’re thinking about your company.
• You’re at a party and you’re thinking about your company.

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There’s also something many people don’t factor in. Obvious to some, not to all: for many, building a company is more than a job - it’s a hobby.

Some people like painting, others movies, others collecting things. Work itself can be a hobby. That doesn’t mean it’s the only one, but if you’re building and it turns out your big hobby - among others - is working, what could be better?

Still, it’s important to note that considering something a hobby doesn’t mean you enjoy everything about it.

As a kid, I loved playing soccer and eventually joined a team. But I never liked the training - whether because I had to run more than I wanted or because sometimes I’d rather play video games.

Both experiences are part of the hobby: what you enjoy and what you don’t.

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Finally, the message shouldn’t be “work for the sake of working”; you should work smart. But if over 90% of startups fail before five years, those who survive aren’t the ones who work smart or hard - it’s those who work hard and smart.

In short, if you enjoy what you do and see it as part of your passion, work and life become a natural integration. Entrepreneurship is demanding, but rewarding for those who live it as an extension of themselves.