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Don’t be a startup zombie

by Joe Dwyer on 2011/01/27

The signs of a startup zombie

Caffeine, bleary eyes, and sleepless nights. And the occasional zombie moan.

During my initial year as a first time founder, I pulled more all-nighters than I can count. With little working capital, I thought I had no choice. I was also proud of what I was building and my willingness to work hard to get things done. My attitude about all-nighters has changed.

Zombie moan

Just say no to zombie moans

I know seasoned entrepreneurs who still pull all-nighters, but most don’t seem to do it often, or at all. Perhaps they’ve achieved enough success that they don’t have to. Or maybe they have kids. I think it’s because they know better. Pulling an all-nighter is rarely the wisest choice.

Disruption is about being smarter

Most startups (at least the ones I deal with) want to be disruptive. Competitors usually have more resources. But founders believe they can win because there’s a better way to solve an important market pain, and incumbents are slow and inflexible. Speed is critical, and it seems to make sense to make up for a lack of resources by working harder.

The problem is that all-nighters play to the strength of the establishment. And they dull your mind. Ever stayed up until the wee hours failing to solve a problem, only to solve it in minutes the next day after getting some sleep? Pull too many all-nighters and you’ll be a startup zombie.

Output = Productivity – waste

How many features have you built that end up in the trash? How many initiatives have been a total waste? Imagine how much faster you could grow your startup if you avoided wasted work. The best way to do that? Have brilliant insights. Constantly question your assumptions. Communicate with your customers to understand their needs. Build great relationships. The problem with lack of sleep is that it interferes with insight, judgment, enthusiasm, and perception. It’s all too easy to moan right through a fantastic customer insight if you haven’t slept much.

I’m not saying there’s never a time for all-nighters. Just that if working until the wee hours is going to affect your judgment about important decisions the next day (and it will), then doing that all-nighter might not be the best choice. My advice: do a code sprint here and there, but don’t let a chronic lack of sleep turn you into a startup zombie.

Zombie moan image courtesy of !INSTANT FUN!

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From → Entrepreneurship, Product Development, Strategy

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  • Kate

    I couldn’t agree more. In addition to personal setbacks, your startup can’t afford the cost of a zombie to group morale. Sleep depravation severely affects higher order processes like decision making, attention and memory because your body is using the energy it has for more vital things, like breathing. Likewise this list of higher cognitive processes also happens to include the interpersonal functions you need to work constructively with an intense close-knit team: enthusiasm, resilience, patience, empathy, diplomacy, etc. When you can hardly keep your eyes open you could care less about “playing well with others”.

    Think of the last time your boss woke up on the wrong side of the bed – it won’t be a too distant memory – and remember how much it affected your productivity, motivation, and creativity. If you work in a small team – which invariably all startups are – this kind of upset has a huge impact on those around you, especially if you have any sort of leadership function. This isn’t to say you need rainbows shooting out your finger tips for your startup to succeed, but the team does need a fully engaged and positive You way more than they need the extra lines of code.

  • admin

    Kate – Excellent thoughts! I really agree with what you’re saying, and hadn’t considered the impact on teammates, which is super important and all too easy to forget. In fact, I think founders often forget the needs of their co-founder and co-workers because they’re so focused on moving the #$@%! startup forward.

  • http://winkvid.com Jake Lumetta

    Totally agree with this. I’m way more productive after a good sleep and things seem a lot easier to solve. No lie, I can usually solve a problem in 10-15min in the morning that would’ve taken 1-2 hours in the wee hours of the night.

  • http://www.josephdwyer.net/ Joseph Dwyer

    Sorry for all the comments being killed! I turned on Disqus, and it looks like I lost the existing comments. I’ll see if I can recover them…

  • Jayme

    Awesome post. I decided early on that either I could have a social life, or 8 hours of sleep per night… I chose the 8 hours and it’s given me the necessary stamina to face years worth of impossible obstacles :)

  • http://www.josephdwyer.net/ Joseph Dwyer

    Jayme, I hear ya. After all, entrepreneurship is a marathon, not a sprint. In many cases it’s the ones who can slog it out over many years who become the “overnight successes.”

  • http://www.josephdwyer.net/ Joseph Dwyer

    Totally! Particularly when it comes to coding, I become a drooling idiot after a while. What looks like an error in someone else’s code or API turns out to be an EBKAC (Error Between Keyboard And Chair) on my end when I look at it again in the morning.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Ross-Gordon/510777747 Ross Gordon

    Great post, Joe. My boss/mentor at my old job at Leo Burnett always preached a work/life/family balance. At most ad agencies long hours are the norm. People stay late just for the sake of saying they did, not because the ideas were better in hour 12 than they were in hour 3. 

    The guidance by my boss has helped shape my philosophy now that I am the founder of a startup, and it’s something I preach to the people that work with me.

    Your mental and physical health directly relate to the health of your startup. When you burn out, your company burns out…