Burnout isn’t a badge of honour

It’s Mental Health Awareness Week and it’s an important time to remember that there is nothing to gain from burnout. 

As Andy Fishburn, Virgin StartUp’s Managing Director wrote on LinkedIn: “Burnout isn’t a badge of honour. It’s a warning sign. You weren’t made to run on empty.” 

Virgin / Harry Kinnaird

Unfortunately, so many entrepreneurs are battling burnout, and feel like they have nowhere to turn. In fact:  

• 94% of founders have experienced poor mental health this year 

• Nearly 50% say they feel lonely in their role 

• Entrepreneurs are 30% more likely to experience depression 

Building something meaningful from the ground up is not easy. And founders are expected to do it all, especially in the early years. But a business will only ever be as healthy as its founder is. If you feel exhausted, isolated, and anxious, it’s important to recognise these feelings and give yourself a break.  

Surrounding yourself with a like-minded community is incredibly important. Especially for entrepreneurs in the early years, who often work alone. This is why we launched the Virgin StartUp Community, and built up one of the largest mentor communities in the UK. 

During Mental Health Awareness Week, members of the community have been able to access extra mentoring slots with incredible entrepreneurs like Nikki Wickes, who co-founded The Body Coach with her brother, Joe Wicks. The team also launched a brilliant podcast called Founder to Founder, with the first episode featuring Alex Partridge – host of the ADHD Chatter podcast.  

Virgin StartUp also worked with the wonderful mental health team at Self Space to host a Walk Club for founders. The event was open to founders everywhere, and provided an opportunity to meet with other entrepreneurs and open up about the challenges they are facing. During the walk, everyone was assigned a walking partner and given a set of prompts to guide more meaningful conversations. Opening up about any challenge we face in life isn’t easy, so prompted conversations are important. We shouldn’t assume the people we love are all doing OK. 

Virgin / Harry Kinnaird

And, of course, this message about burnout applies to employees everywhere – whether you work for a start-up or a global company. No matter how driven you are, know that looking after your health, spending time with your family, and knowing when to rest will only serve you better in the long run. You can’t keep running on empty. 

So, if you do one thing today, slow down and check in on a colleague. And if you know an entrepreneur that might need some help, the Virgin StartUp Community is a great place to start.