“I didn’t even notice I was burning out. I thought I was just being dedicated.”

That’s how Ayo, a solo founder of a health-tech startup, began his email to us. He wrote it at 2:36 a.m. He was replying to a customer support ticket, rewriting investor updates, and trying to figure out how to make next month’s payroll — all at once.

“I felt like I was on fire — and not in the motivational poster way. More like, no matter how fast I moved, something was always burning.”

It Started with Passion

Ayo had been building his startup for almost three years. He was obsessed with solving the problem. He knew the pain — he had lived it.

In year one, he slept 4–5 hours a night, skipped holidays, and convinced himself he could rest “after the launch.”
In year two, he raised a small angel round, hired two contractors, and went full-time. The launch happened. The dopamine hit lasted a week.
By year three, the metrics were flat. His inbox felt like a game of whack-a-mole. He felt nothing when he got good news. And when bad news came, he couldn’t feel that either.

The Wake-Up Call Came From His Body

First it was back pain. Then it was jaw tightness — he’d been clenching in his sleep.
Then, one day, he forgot what day it was. Not in a funny way. In a scary, blank stare at the calendar way. His doctor didn’t need to run tests:

“You’re not broken. You’re burned out.”

But burnout doesn’t show up on balance sheets. There’s no Slack status that says “Mentally Checked Out But Still Pushing.”

Ayo felt trapped. If he stopped, it would all fall apart. If he kept going, he would.

What No One Talks About

Burnout is not about being weak. It’s about being relentlessly strong — for too long, without support.
It’s when:

• You forget why you started
  
• You resent the thing you once loved
  
• You start to disappear from your own life
  

Founders burn out in silence because admitting it feels like failure. But hiding it only makes it worse.

What Helped Ayo Recover

Not a coach.
Not a $1,000 productivity tool.
Not a founder podcast.

It was a friend. Another founder. Who said:

“You’re not lazy. You’re running on fumes. Step back before your body makes you.”

Ayo paused. Two weeks off. Turned off email. Told investors the truth.

Nothing exploded.

The business didn’t collapse.
But something inside him started to rebuild.

His Words, Not Ours:

“Burnout didn’t hit me like a wall. It eroded me slowly. It wasn’t until I looked at my reflection and didn’t recognize the person staring back that I knew something had to change.”

“I still love my startup. But now I love my health more.”

If You’re Here…

If you’re reading this through clenched teeth, exhausted but wired, heart racing when Slack pings — stop.

This is your signal.

You’re not alone. You’re not weak. You’re human. And you deserve to rest.

📥 Want to share your burnout story anonymously?
We’ll tell it. You’ll help someone else breathe again.
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