2026 Results.

Who the founders behind these responses are — role, age, gender, and background.

The companies they're running — community, industry, stage, and size.

How founders rate their well-being on a 0–10 scale. The bar shows the middle 50% of responses (P25–P75); the dot marks the median.

Founders report moderate life satisfaction (median 7/10) and a strong sense that their work is worthwhile (7/10). But self-rated mental health is lower (6/10), and many feel alone carrying the weight of the company (median 6/10).

Higher = more agreement for all items. For the “founder experience” items, higher values indicate more frustration.

Founders rated each challenge on a 0–4 scale (0 = “not a challenge,” 4 = “major challenge”). Sorted by severity.

Growth tops the list — “we are not growing fast enough” averages 2.9/4. Operational overwhelm and team speed follow. Board/investor conflict is the least-reported challenge (mean 0.3).

Scale: 0 = not a challenge, 1 = minor, 2 = moderate, 3 = significant, 4 = major. “Cofounder friction” shown only for cofounded companies (n = 144).

Among cofounded teams, how founders rate the health and dynamics of their primary cofounder relationship. Likert items use a 0–4 agree scale; overall health is 0–10.

The median cofounder relationship health is 8/10 (IQR 6–9). Trust and psychological safety are generally strong: most cofounders can raise difficult topics and share doubts openly.

The PHQ-9 is a validated screener for depression severity. Scores range from 0 (no symptoms) to 27 (severe).

The median PHQ-9 score is 6 (mild range). But 28% of founders score in the moderate-to-severe range (10+), compared to roughly 8% in the general population.

The GAD-7 is a validated screener for generalized anxiety disorder. Scores range from 0 to 21.

The median GAD-7 score is 6. 36% of founders score in the moderate-to-severe range (10+), roughly 5× the general population rate.

The Maslach Burnout Inventory measures three dimensions on a 0–6 frequency scale (0 = never, 6 = every day). Higher exhaustion and cynicism indicate more burnout; higher efficacy is protective.

Founders report emotional exhaustion well above working-population norms — mean 3.7/6 vs. the normative mean of 2.16 (+1.05 SD), exceeding the “high” threshold of 2.89. Cynicism is also elevated at 2.6/6 vs. 1.41 (+1.03 SD), approaching the high threshold of 2.86. Professional efficacy remains healthy at 4.3/6 (norm: 4.19). This pattern — high exhaustion with adequate efficacy — is characteristic of an “Overextended” burnout profile. The ▼ marker shows the general working population mean for comparison.

Population norms from the MBI Manual, 4th Ed. (Maslach, Jackson & Leiter, 2018; N = 1,766 workers). “High” thresholds: Exhaustion ≥ 2.89, Cynicism ≥ 2.86, Efficacy ≤ 4.30 (reverse-scored).

What drives founders — how ambitious, what kind of success matters, and the deeper motivational regulation behind the work. All items use a five-point scale (0–4).

Founders are highly ambitious (median 4/4 — “strongly agree”). The strongest motivations are autonomous — genuinely valuing the work (median 3/4) and finding it enjoyable (median 3/4). External pressure and guilt-driven motivation are less common.

How many people founders can confide in, and how often they do.

The median founder knows 4 people they could confide in about work struggles and 3 about personal struggles. In the past month, the median founder confided about work 3 times and about personal matters 2 times.

Founders' experience with therapy, coaching, and barriers to seeking help.

60.6% of founders have worked with a therapist at some point, and 37.9% have worked with a professional coach. 29.1% considered seeking mental health support in the past year but didn't.

What psychiatric medications founders are currently taking. Respondents could select multiple options.

Founders reported how often they used each substance in the past 12 months. Two key metrics: any use (tried it at least once) and monthly or more (regular use).

81.5% of founders used alcohol in the past year, with 59.3% drinking monthly or more. 44.6% used cannabis. Around 1 in 4 founders have tried a psychedelic (psilocybin is the most common at 22.7%), though regular psychedelic use is rare.

Past 12 months. “Any use” = at least once. “Monthly+” = monthly, weekly, or daily. n ≈ 130. “Stimulants” refers to non-prescribed use (e.g., Adderall without Rx, cocaine). “Ketamine” is recreational only (not prescribed/clinical).

The Dirty Dozen measures three personality traits on a 0–4 agreement scale. The shaded region shows the middle 50% (P25–P75); the ◆ marks the founder mean; the ▼ marks the general population mean.

Founders score slightly above population norms on Machiavellianism (1.5 vs. 1.24) and Narcissism (1.9 vs. 1.60) — consistent with research showing entrepreneurs at roughly the 63rd percentile on narcissism. Psychopathy is at or below the general population level (1 vs. 1.14).

The Dirty Dozen (Jonason & Webster, 2010) is a brief measure of subclinical dark personality traits. Population norms from Czarna et al. (2016; N = 634; converted from 1–5 to 0–4 scale). Entrepreneur narcissism context from Hmieleski & Lerner (2016). Scores are descriptive, not diagnostic. n = 129.

Screening tools and self-reported diagnoses for ADHD and autism — two conditions with outsized prevalence among founders.

15.6% of founders report a formal ADHD diagnosis and another 21.9% suspect they have it. On the ASRS-6 screener, 35.4% score in the high range (14+). For autism, 1.6% have a formal diagnosis (12.4% suspected) and 7.8% score at or above the AQ-10 referral threshold (6+).

Items rated 0–4 (never to very often); higher total scores suggest more ADHD-related traits. Range 0–24.

Binary clinical scoring (0 or 1 per item); 6+ out of 10 suggests referral for further assessment.

A curated selection of anonymous open-ended responses to “Is there anything else about your mental health, wellbeing, or life as a founder that you'd like to share?”