Burnout, hustle culture, definitions of success that don’t fit? Yancey Strickler tells you how to avoid them

In every edition of Santander X Explorer, two guests join our TalkX sessions, revealing insights about entrepreneurship that nobody else shares with you. Yancey Strickler, founder of Kickstarter and Metalabel, was the first: he began his conversation with Patricia Araque, the programme’s Executive Director, by talking about burnout — one of the syndromes threatening everyone who tries to turn their idea into reality.

“Everything about entrepreneurship is deeply personal,” Yancey began, which is why building a company affects you emotionally. “If something happens, you feel it a hundred times more. Burnout isn’t the result of working too hard, but of handling our emotions incorrectly,” he added.

 To avoid it, “you need to find energy in what you’re doing. If you love what you do, you’ll simply keep going,” he said. Enjoying it. Without the drama.

Define your success

In addition, another risk facing entrepreneurs is hustle culture, the rush-driven mindset that has seeped into entrepreneurial narratives. How does this impact emotions, and how can we spot the red flags? Patricia asked Yancey. 

“What really matters is feeling recognised; that helped me believe in myself. When I realised I was losing touch with that feeling, I started new projects that brought out a better version of me,” he replied. That is a definition of success just as valid as any other. “I’m not talking about commercial success (what others have imposed), but the gift of having a purpose, something that guides my actions, and being able to do that every day,” explained the founder of Metalabel.

“Having something to fight for is what keeps you alive. It makes you feel powerful because you’re doing what you’ve chosen.”

How do you measure a project’s value?

This was followed by another question from the Executive Director of Santander X Explorer, since the programme moves away from the narrative that equates “value” with “money.” 

“Those who think differently don’t make money their top priority — and that frees them from the harshness of seeking backing in the market (i.e. investors). The value of a project comes from asking yourself: ‘What am I really doing for other people?’ The soul of an idea comes from the people who work on it, so what you need to learn as an entrepreneur is where the soul of what you do comes from,” Yancey said.

“When you align yourself with the truth of what you’re doing, everything is better. Otherwise, you don’t move forward, and things get complicated.”

Community is your ally

Relying on a community and surrounding yourself with people who understand entrepreneurship the same way you do is one of the most valuable assets of Santander X Explorer. That is why Patricia asked the Kickstarter founder how participants can approach their projects from a collective perspective. 

“I’ve never enjoyed being alone at the top of a hierarchy; I’ve always wanted people around me because **discussing ideas with others makes you better. **You need to be able to share experiences with people, because we all have things we’re good at and others we’re not,” he explained. That’s where the real support of those around you lies. “When I think about the people I work with, I feel renewed, energised. In every project I know there are three or four people I can rely on, because everything is better with them,” he told us.

If you also have people you trust and are always talking about starting something together, or if you’d like to be part of a community where you’ll find all the support you need to** test whether your project can be profitable**, pre-register for Santander X Explorer and we will let you know when the next call opens.