There was a moment when I seriously considered walking away from my startup.
→ The late nights.
→ The early mornings.
→ Everything I’d poured into this business.
This article isn’t about bragging that I kept going. It’s about showing you that struggling is part of the journey. It’s normal.
Today, I’m going to show you the three biggest struggles I faced while building my startup, why I almost gave up, and how I got through them.
By the end of this, you’ll have powerful strategies you can start using right now to build your startup with confidence and push through your own struggles.
→ The late nights.
→ The early mornings.
→ Everything I’d poured into this business.
This article isn’t about bragging that I kept going. It’s about showing you that struggling is part of the journey. It’s normal.
Today, I’m going to show you the three biggest struggles I faced while building my startup, why I almost gave up, and how I got through them.
By the end of this, you’ll have powerful strategies you can start using right now to build your startup with confidence and push through your own struggles.
What life was like when I first started my startup
Before I dive into the first struggle, let me give you a quick picture of what life was like when I first founded my startup.
I was working over 60 hours a week. Early mornings, late nights – just pushing nonstop. It was exhausting.
And here’s the thing: I’m naturally impatient. I want results now, yesterday even – not next month. But despite that, I kept grinding because I truly believed in the vision.
I believed in what I was building.
That brings me to the first big struggle I ran into…
I was working over 60 hours a week. Early mornings, late nights – just pushing nonstop. It was exhausting.
And here’s the thing: I’m naturally impatient. I want results now, yesterday even – not next month. But despite that, I kept grinding because I truly believed in the vision.
I believed in what I was building.
That brings me to the first big struggle I ran into…
Struggle 1: Accepting That It Takes Time
In the beginning, I thought I’d launch, push hard, and boom – instant results.
✅ Big wins.
✅ Revenue.
✅ Users.
✅ Growth.
But that’s not what happened.
It was slow. Painfully slow. Like watching paint dry, slow.
I was working all the time, but it felt like nothing was moving forward.
And then, you scroll through Instagram or LinkedIn and see those 20-year-olds in Bali talking about how they made $3 million last quarter.
And suddenly, you’re sitting in your apartment, thinking:
• Am I doing something wrong?
• What am I missing here?
• Why is this taking so long?
Here’s the truth – and I wish someone had told me this earlier:
✅ Big wins.
✅ Revenue.
✅ Users.
✅ Growth.
But that’s not what happened.
It was slow. Painfully slow. Like watching paint dry, slow.
I was working all the time, but it felt like nothing was moving forward.
And then, you scroll through Instagram or LinkedIn and see those 20-year-olds in Bali talking about how they made $3 million last quarter.
And suddenly, you’re sitting in your apartment, thinking:
• Am I doing something wrong?
• What am I missing here?
• Why is this taking so long?
Here’s the truth – and I wish someone had told me this earlier:
👉 Real startups take time. Way more time than you think. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.
And it’s definitely not like what most gurus want you to believe – the “I made $80,000 this month using one simple strategy” kind of thing.
At first, most of your progress is invisible:
→ You’re building trust.
→ You’re building systems.
→ You make mistakes.
→ You learn.
Often, it just feels like silence. You show up. You do the work. And nothing seems to happen.
But that’s not failure. That’s normal.
One of the hardest parts of the early days is learning to live with delayed feedback. You can do everything right for weeks or even months and still see nothing.
But under the surface, momentum is building. You can feel it. You’re laying down the foundation. So you have to be patient.
And here’s what helped me – even though I’m naturally impatient:
👉 Every Saturday, I sit down and write a to-do list for the following week. And it’s not 20 things – it’s just a few focused tasks, each tied to my big goal.
That way, even if things feel slow, I know I’m still moving forward.
That’s how startups are built. Not in one giant leap, but in a thousand small steps, done again and again.
So here’s what I want you to do:
That’s how startups are built. Not in one giant leap, but in a thousand small steps, done again and again.
So here’s what I want you to do:
✏️ Clearly define what you want to achieve this quarter.
It could be getting your first customer, or your first 100 customers – whatever it is, be very clear about it.
Then, sit down for half an hour and define five tasks that will bring you closer to that goal. Five things you can do next week. Doing this will get you to your goal one step at a time.
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Struggle 1: Accepting That It Takes Time
Struggle 2: Knowing What You Really Want
Let’s talk about success. Here’s what happens:
You’re scrolling through LinkedIn or Twitter, and you see someone who just sold their startup for $100 million. Or someone who raised $12 million and is hiring a huge team.
When I first started, I was jealous of these people.
I thought I needed the same.
But I forgot something very important:
You’re scrolling through LinkedIn or Twitter, and you see someone who just sold their startup for $100 million. Or someone who raised $12 million and is hiring a huge team.
When I first started, I was jealous of these people.
I thought I needed the same.
But I forgot something very important:
👉 Not all success looks the same.
→ You might not want to raise VC money.
→ You might not want to manage 50 people.
→ You might not want to work 80-hour weeks chasing a huge exit.
→ Maybe you just want freedom.
→ Maybe you simply want to create something you love.
These are all different goals, but each one can mean success.
✅ Here’s the key:
If you’re chasing someone else’s dream, even if you “win,” it won’t feel like winning. You’ll feel like you wasted your time.
This was a big one for me. At one point, I realized I was chasing a version of success that looked good… but didn’t actually feel right.
So, I sat down and asked myself:
→ You might not want to raise VC money.
→ You might not want to manage 50 people.
→ You might not want to work 80-hour weeks chasing a huge exit.
→ Maybe you just want freedom.
→ Maybe you simply want to create something you love.
These are all different goals, but each one can mean success.
✅ Here’s the key:
If you’re chasing someone else’s dream, even if you “win,” it won’t feel like winning. You’ll feel like you wasted your time.
This was a big one for me. At one point, I realized I was chasing a version of success that looked good… but didn’t actually feel right.
So, I sat down and asked myself:
👉 What does success really look like – for me? Not for investors. Not for a tech blog. For me.
I wrote it down and pinned it on the wall. And I made it a habit to check it regularly – to make sure I was on the right track.
That little exercise changed everything. It helped me stop chasing other people’s wins and start chasing my own dream.
So take a moment to think about it:
→ What would your life be like if your startup took off?
→ How do you define success in the long term?
Struggle 1: Accepting That It Takes Time
Struggle 3: Remembering Why You Started
You didn’t start your startup just to build a cool product.
✅ Maybe you wanted to escape a job you hated.
✅ Maybe you wanted to support your family.
✅ Or maybe you wanted to prove to yourself that you could actually do it.
But somewhere along the way, all of that gets buried.
You get caught up in the tasks. Metrics. Bugs. Emails. Hiring. Firing.
And when things don’t work out the way you hoped, those little thoughts creep in…
→ What if I’m not good enough?
→ What if this doesn’t work?
→ What am I even doing here?
And honestly, that’s what breaks most founders.
❌ It’s not a failed product.
❌ Not a bad launch.
❌ Not the competition.
👉 It’s the disconnect.
✅ Maybe you wanted to escape a job you hated.
✅ Maybe you wanted to support your family.
✅ Or maybe you wanted to prove to yourself that you could actually do it.
But somewhere along the way, all of that gets buried.
You get caught up in the tasks. Metrics. Bugs. Emails. Hiring. Firing.
And when things don’t work out the way you hoped, those little thoughts creep in…
→ What if I’m not good enough?
→ What if this doesn’t work?
→ What am I even doing here?
And honestly, that’s what breaks most founders.
❌ It’s not a failed product.
❌ Not a bad launch.
❌ Not the competition.
👉 It’s the disconnect.
They forget why they started. And once that purpose fades, it gets really hard to keep going.
This happened to me too. And what helped was really simple, but it worked.
I grabbed a piece of paper and wrote my “why” on it.
The real one.
Not the one that sounds good in a pitch deck. The real reason I started.
Then, I stuck it on the wall where I’d see it every morning.
✅ When I was tired – I checked my why.
✅ When I was frustrated – I checked my why.
✅ When I wanted to walk away – I checked my why.
👉 That little note reminded me every single day:
“Oh right. This is why I’m doing this.”
✏️ I want you to do the same. Write your why on a piece of paper or a sticky note. No fluff. No fancy words. Just the truth.
Put it somewhere you can see it every day. I promise that will get you through every struggle while building your startup.
Try it tonight. You might be surprised at how much energy comes back.
What's next
Building a startup is not easy. It’s not the shiny, perfect life you see on social media. It’s a daily grind through struggles.
But that grind makes you grow – not just as a founder, but as a person.
→ Your mindset will be stronger.
→ Your business will be stronger.
So don’t give up. Keep pushing!
Now, to make your life easier and help you build a successful startup, I’ve got something for you!
A proven 4-step framework that’s already helped 50+ startups and billion-dollar companies build a marketing strategy to get new customers.
You can get it in my Marketing Channel Bundle.
And best of all - you can achieve results in just 3 hours, thanks to smart AI prompts that guide you through every step with ease.
So click the button below and get the Marketing Channel Bundle right now!
But that grind makes you grow – not just as a founder, but as a person.
→ Your mindset will be stronger.
→ Your business will be stronger.
So don’t give up. Keep pushing!
Now, to make your life easier and help you build a successful startup, I’ve got something for you!
A proven 4-step framework that’s already helped 50+ startups and billion-dollar companies build a marketing strategy to get new customers.
You can get it in my Marketing Channel Bundle.
And best of all - you can achieve results in just 3 hours, thanks to smart AI prompts that guide you through every step with ease.
So click the button below and get the Marketing Channel Bundle right now!
