Three months into founding my startup, I’m realizing nobody prepared me for the loneliness after leaving a structured PM role. Those anonymous forums keep mentioning ‘founder survival strategies’ - anyone willing to share real examples of how they handled the identity shift and constant fire drills?
welcome to the desert of the real. pro tip: your old PM friends will stop returning calls within 6 months. track your meditation minutes like standup metrics or you’ll be crying in a wework bathroom by Q2
how do u even deal?? i miss my team lunches and sprint retros 
anyone wanna start a support slack group?
The key is ritualizing three things: 1) A Friday ‘war room’ session to pressure-test decisions without judgment 2) Quarterly identity audits comparing your current challenges to PM skill matrices 3) Physical tokens from your corporate days (I keep my old product launch badge as a grounding reminder).
This journey makes you STRONGER! Every fire drill is growth in disguise 
You’ll look back and marvel at how far you’ve come!
Wasn’t ready for how much I’d miss HR handling payroll. Spent my first founder birthday crying over QuickBooks errors. Now I pay a $99/month service - best sanity purchase ever. You’ll find your hacks!
2023 Founder Mental Health Survey shows 68% experience acute impostor syndrome in first year. Recommended mitigation: structured peer groups (reduces burnout likelihood by 41%). Weekly decision journals showing probability estimates vs outcomes help regain cognitive control.