Startup-stress: Can certain types of stress also be an opportunity for founders?

Stefan, your research often focuses on the question of how startups are successful. In a new study in collaboration with RWTH Aachen, you focused on the founders themselves and looked at the stress factors they are exposed to face. What were your key findings? 

Founders usually work in environments that are characterized by high workloads. Time pressure, responsibility, and conflicts create a heavy burden. That's why the ability of founders to recover and adapt plays a central role. In our study, we examine how two typical stress factors, high workload and conflicts with investors, affect resilience in the short and long term. The results suggest that a high workload is stressful in the moment, but under certain conditions, it can also have a positive effect on resilience over the long term. Conflicts with investors, on the other hand, lead to a downward spiral, meaning they consistently drain energy and have no strengthening effect.  

A heavy workload can feel stressful at the time, but – similar to a training program – it can increase resilience. Why is this not the case with conflicts?  

Psychological research distinguishes between so-called challenge stressors and hindrance stressors. In other words, a distinction is made between good stress, which can trigger positive momentum, and bad stress, which hinders progress. High workloads often fall into the first group. Although demanding in the short term, they may trigger cognitive and emotional processes in the longer term that promote adaptation and problem solving. Through that, founders can gain new insights and experience progress that strengthens their resilience. Conflicts with investors belong to the second group. They impair one's ability to act in both the short and long term and repeatedly reduce the feeling of control and self-efficacy. They lead to persistent negative emotions without triggering positive development. 

And what do these findings mean for founders in practice? 

The findings highlight two areas where founders can take immediate action: First, mental recovery plays an important role, especially in periods of acute stress. The startup world is often still dominated by a hustle culture ideology, with many people being “always on” and constantly in “working mode.” Our results suggest that those who manage to consciously disconnect from work are better able to cushion acute stress and work more sustainably overall. In research, this is referred to as “psychological detachment.” Clear boundaries between work and leisure time are key, and tools such as meditation or mindfulness exercises can further support this disconnection. Fortunately, there are already many signs that the importance of “switching off” is increasingly being understood and that more and more support services are emerging in this context. This development needs to be further expanded.  

Secondly, it can help founders to see periods of high workload as an opportunity to grow in their role. A high workload can thus develop into a strengthening experience over time. Founders should try early on to reframe stressful periods for themselves and see them not only as a burden but also as an opportunity. Such reframing can reduce acute stress and promote the development of resilience. 

Thank you very much for your insights. 

The full article is available in open access in the Journal of Small Business Management. Stefan Raff-Heinen from BFH and colleagues Annika Mara Aust, Sebastian Kruse, Pia Leyendecker, and Malte Brettel from RWTH Aachen were involved in the study. .