This isn’t about glorifying burnout or pushing hustle culture. It’s about facing an uncomfortable truth — if you’re not putting in the hours early on, you probably won’t get the results you want.

Founders aren’t employees

You’re not clocking in and out. You’re building something that didn’t exist before. No systems. No templates. No certainty.

And if you’re not obsessed with making it work, someone else will be — and they’ll move faster than you.

Just look at it:

• Lovable hit £75M ARR and 180K subscribers in just eight months.
   

• Newman pivoted, scaled, and raised £57M after doubling revenue.
  
  That doesn’t happen on a neat 9–5 schedule.
   

Even the founders behind EU Inc., who are fighting for startup-friendly reforms across Europe, are doing it on top of full-time jobs. Why? Because they care. Because they can’t not do it.

The reality: Europe isn’t built for speed

Starting and scaling in Europe is hard.

Fundraising, hiring, regulation, legal processes — everything takes longer and costs more.

Something as basic as incorporating a company can take weeks and thousands in fees across notaries and lawyers. Meanwhile, in the U.S., you can set up a Delaware C-corp in a few clicks for $500.

That’s why so many European founders work seven days a week — not because they’re obsessed with grind culture, but because the system itself moves slowly. So they compensate with effort.

My story: burnout doesn’t come from hours — it comes from misalignment

I burnt out once. But not when I was working 12-hour days. It was when I had a normal corporate job — standard hours, weekends off, a “good salary.” And I hated every minute of it.

Now, I work most days from 10am to 10pm. Weekends too — just a bit lighter. And I’ve never felt more energised.

I walk my dog, listen to podcasts, move my body (sometimes), and switch off when I need to. I don’t have traditional balance — but I have my version of it. And it works.

Every day feels like Monday. But I don’t mind. Because it’s my Monday.

Let’s be honest

People love to talk about “toxic founder culture.” But what’s actually toxic is pretending that balance magically exists at the start.

Most founders I know aren’t burnt out from working too much — they’re burnt out from working on the wrong thing. From chasing traction that never comes. From pushing a rock uphill with no belief left in it.

When you care about what you’re building, it doesn’t feel like 80-hour weeks — it feels like purpose.

Work-life balance is great — later

Balance is a luxury that comes after momentum, not before.

If you’re building something meaningful, expect chaos. Expect long days. Expect weekends that blend into weekdays.

You don’t have to work seven days a week forever. But at the start, don’t expect shortcuts either.

It’s supposed to be hard.

And if you’re reading this on a Sunday while everyone else is watching Netflix — you’re not broken.

You’re just building.

👉 Want more straight-talking stories from real founders actually doing the work?

Join the Rare Founders Newsletter for honest insights, startup lessons, and event invites:

https://startups.rarefounders.com/