Connetic Ventures reposted this
A fellow VC said something to me recently that stopped me cold: “There’s no portfolio loss I haven’t seen coming except for founder burnout.” 🤯 Last week in El Salvador, at our 3rd annual Flying With Founders Retreat - I watched a group of founders do something most never slow down long enough to do. They invested in themselves. Not just calendar space. Not just time away from their teams. But presence! They stepped out of the chaos of startup life—and into deep work: ➡️ self-awareness ➡️ personal development ➡️ leadership growth ➡️ honest reflection on who they’re becoming while scaling their companies and teams Here’s the truth most startup and VC culture doesn’t say out loud: You can’t out-execute personal misalignment. You can’t scale clarity you haven’t built internally. And no exit is truly healthy if the founder is burned out, numb, or disconnected from their purpose. These founders didn’t come to El Salvador to escape. They came to confront—patterns, blind spots, self-sabotage, and the quiet questions that only surface when you finally stop to be still. This is where real leadership is forged. If you’re a founder reading this, consider this your nudge: The best ROI you’ll ever make isn’t another hire, tool, or growth hack. It’s the moment you decide to invest time and money into who you are becoming—not just what you’re building. That decision changes everything 🚀 Feeling a little vulnerable? I’m curious—what do you know you need to work on this year, but haven’t made space for yet? #HealthyFoundersHealthyExits #venturecapital #founderwellness Washington Avenue Advisors Exit Quotient Ventures Achsha Jones Harry Charles Williams Evan Winters Meegan Winters Joshua Coombs Victoria Levinsohn Seth Killian Kaben Clauson Tim Moore Startup Grind Lansing Flying With Founders