Startup Therapist Reveals 3 Keys to Founder Mental Health

The most intimate relationship in an entrepreneur's life may not be with a spouse or best friend, but with their cofounder. When this partnership works, a thunderbolt idea can become a unicorn. When it doesn't, conflict can sink the ship just as quickly as it took off.

Yariv Ganor, a therapist based in Israel, has been counseling startup founders for the past six years. Trained as both a clinical and industrial psychologist with previous marketing experience at Israeli startups, Ganor understands the unique pressures of building a company from the ground up.

His work has become increasingly relevant as Silicon Valley's pace of dealmaking and technological advancement makes addressing internal fractures more critical than ever. The rise of AI startups has only intensified these pressures, particularly for young founders in San Francisco.

Research validates Ganor's observations about founder mental health. A 2025 study found that nearly seven in ten founders consider their 'always on' mentality foundational to their success. This mindset, while potentially beneficial for business, comes with significant personal costs.

Another 2018 study on psychiatric conditions among entrepreneurs revealed that over 70% of participants reported experiencing higher rates of depression, ADHD, and other mental health conditions compared to non-entrepreneurs. Ganor sees these consequences play out in real time as startups scale, funding multiples increase, and expectations mount.

The pressure is particularly acute in the AI sector, where the pace of innovation moves relentlessly forward. Founders who once might have had months to strategize now face weekly pivots to keep pace with competitors. This environment creates a perfect storm where personal well-being often takes a backseat to company survival.

When work life crowds out everything else — personal relationships, hobbies, and more — it becomes difficult for founders to maintain a sense of self outside the company.

For many founders, the line between who they are and what they do blurs rapidly. Being a founder becomes a question of personal identity rather than just a job. Ganor observes that founders often get so wrapped up in their titles that they forget parts of themselves.

This identity fusion creates vulnerability. When the company struggles, the founder's entire sense of self-worth comes under attack. When the company succeeds, the founder may neglect other aspects of life that provide balance and resilience.

Ganor's approach involves creating clear diffusion between work and play. He requires founders to take their meetings with him outside of the office and provides tools for compartmentalizing career and personal stressors. This separation allows founders to maintain perspective and make clearer decisions.

The industrial psychologist training helps Ganor understand that founders are trained to problem-solve, execute, and optimize — often at the expense of reflection. This skill set, while essential for building companies, can have downstream effects on leadership, decision-making, and cofounder relationships.

Founders meticulously track their financial runway — how much cash remains in the bank. What they don't track nearly as closely, according to Ganor, is their own capacity to keep going. Many founders believe they have unlimited mental stamina and can always push through demanding schedules.

The '996' work week — working from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. six days a week — has become an ascendant trend in Silicon Valley. Ganor warns that this schedule, while common, can quickly deplete mental reserves. He encourages founders to think about their mental health with the same rigor they apply to their financial stakes.

Don't dilute your mental equity. You need to be very knowledgeable of your mental runway — once the startup starts, your runway gets shorter and shorter.

Preserving mental runway begins with recognizing responsibilities to team members, clients, investors, and others. These responsibilities multiply rapidly as a startup scales, making early attention to mental health even more critical. The founder who burns out in year one cannot lead effectively in year three.

Few founder stories end in rollicking success. Ganor implores his clients to never frame pivots or closures as failures. Instead, he encourages viewing these moments as redirection rather than rejection. Sometimes, he notes, success can even look like preventing an unideal ending from becoming worse.

Ganor once helped cofounders who were unwinding their startup finalize their business dealings with minimal conflict. This outcome, while not the unicorn exit they had envisioned, represented a success in its own right — preserving relationships and professional reputations.

Currently, Ganor is studying the relationship between founders and investors, particularly how both parties think about company pivots. One of his key findings challenges a common founder assumption: most rejection isn't personal. Investors make decisions based on market conditions, portfolio strategy, and countless factors beyond any single founder's control.

This perspective shift can be liberating. When founders internalize that rejection often reflects circumstances rather than personal worth, they can move forward with greater resilience and clarity.

The startup ecosystem's intensity shows no signs of diminishing. As AI continues to reshape industries and new technologies emerge, the pressure on founders will likely increase. Yet Ganor's work demonstrates that sustainable success requires attention to the human element.

His three strategies — separating identity from the company, tracking mental runway alongside financial runway, and reframing rejection — provide a framework for navigating the entrepreneurial journey with greater resilience. These approaches don't eliminate the challenges of building a company, but they equip founders to face them with clearer minds and stronger foundations.

For cofounders considering therapy, the new year often brings reflection and a willingness to address relationship strains before they become critical. The most valuable asset any startup has isn't its technology or funding — it's the people building it. Protecting their mental health isn't just personal care; it's sound business strategy.