Blog: For a better and safer world for entrepreneurs
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Blog: For a better and safer world for entrepreneurs
Hello world,
My name is Vladi Mesko Briestenska, CEO and one of the founders of The Future Farm. I am starting this letter in a rather formal way as for many, this is the first time we will have met. Certainly not the last, I hope. But no more formalities for today. In the next few lines I will share our story. The Future Farm story.
Simple, why do we exist?
In the beginning, when we shared within the team our stories of working with entrepreneurs as well as building our own businesses, we had had very similar experiences. Lot of excitement and joy from being able to work on your idea, in some cases your dream. Freedom of being your own boss and flexibility allowing you to design your days and manage your energies. Fulfilment from working on something bigger than yourself, a cause with a real meaning, and ideally doing that with a team that feels like a family where you feel you belong, with no need to pretend. Sounds ideal, right?
Well, for most of us that is only half the story. Anxiety from neverending to-do lists; feelings of inadequacy and self-doubt; financial stresses; expectations and pressure from family and friends; uneasy conflicts with co-founders; not being seen for who you truly are; a need to cheer the team on even though you are feeling low; sleepless nights and lonely days; questioning your identity on how to transition out of the low moments with dignity and your head held high, all whilst on an adrenaline hunt to escape, to find a release. There is more to this list, but you get the picture.
We know that we are not alone in experiencing these emotions. After we shared these feelings with each other, a few things became clear.
Firstly, we were curious enough to find out if other entrepreneurs face similar challenges, and secondly, how do they cope? This was also a chance for us to find out if we could work as a team.
Over about five months, we interviewed tens of founders across geographies and types of businesses (we also talked to investors), about their personal challenges and how they cope with the hardships of building a business. Most of the conversations followed a similar script:
The first 20 minutes were important to build trust with each other and establish a safe space for the real stuff that followed. A heavy load. We were mostly surprised by how rare it still is for us to talk about our emotions and feelings. For some this was the very first time that they had opened up about it. Because they were in a safe space, just one-on-one.
Some entrepreneurs told us about their support mechanisms, from the famous 3Fs “faith, family and fitness”, to experiments with psychedelics, but also the practice of coaching and therapy. Although there were many who asked for guidance, who didn’t have it all figured out, who felt that the way the system and entrepreneurship works today is not sustainable, and it is difficult to combine with other parts of life. And that the talks about the need to support the emotional and mental health of founders are often lip service, with very little action and real support in follow-up.
In retrospect, forming a mission statement for The Future Farm was fairly easy. To create a better and safer world for entrepreneurs and leaders to build their dreams. We believe that entrepreneurs are often drivers of positive change in society solving some of the major systemic problems, hence this choice in life should not be a ‘losing it all’ option. And today we know that around 582 million people, almost 8% of the global population, have devoted their lives to entrepreneurship.
We are building The Future Farm as a global platform to raise awareness about the topic of entrepreneur and leader’s health, to normalise and destigmatise the conversation. And to address the ‘so what’ - the variety of ways to cope, build-up resilience and equip ourselves to better sustain and ideally grow, and evolve through hardships, as many tough moments will come your way.
Where do we begin?
We are starting with the NAKED podcast (already live - check it out here) dedicated to sharing open and vulnerable stories of entrepreneurs and practical insights on how to improve resilience, emotional and mental health. We are also launching our work with investors, venture capital firms and business accelerators, to help them better understand the health of the entrepreneurs they work with and how they can practically provide support to their portfolios in building-up resilience.
The Future Farm is a journey for us as well. Of our own new model of building a venture in a way that is more healthy and feels right. We are committed to being open about the bumps we face along the way, and will not only share the glory and the happy moments. It’s clear that we will not be able to do this alone, and therefore we aspire to co-drive a movement with many other individuals, organisations, businesses and governments to create a better and safer world for entrepreneurs and leaders.
My last line goes to the brave entrepreneurs and investors who have shared their stories with us, opened up about the emotions and feelings that often stay bottled up and hidden. Thank you for your courage and readiness in leading the way. You are at the heart of this story.
We invite all of you to discover more about The Future Farm, listen to the stories and share yours. We look forward to hearing from you.
Vladi and The Future Farm Team
Become a contributor and engage with The Future Farm
Are you interested in contributing on the topic of entrepreneur health and emotional resilience with us? Or interested in inviting The Future Farm to contribute to your initiatives or event? Drop us a note.
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