More than 80 per cent of startup founders experience isolation some or all of the time, and those who do are 50 per cent more likely to postpone important decisions, according to a new survey.
The poll of 120 founders, conducted by The Founder’s Sanctuary, cites three practical barriers to getting help: 52 per cent said lack of time blocks access to support; 41 per cent cited cost; and 36 per cent juggle caregiving alongside building their businesses, limiting participation in accelerators, coaching or mentorship groups. Nearly two-thirds (64 per cent) said stress and overwork are already denting performance by impairing judgement and slowing startup progress.
“Entrepreneurship doesn’t need to be this hard,” said Helen McGuire, founder of The Founder’s Sanctuary. “We need to stop glorifying ‘struggling through it’ and start making support more accessible and flexible, putting the founder first.”
McGuire described isolation as “decision-making in a vacuum – no one to sense-check strategy, no time or way to seek genuine advice,” often compounded by caregiving. She said “always-on” leadership norms worsen time pressure, and one-size-fits-all programmes can amplify cost barriers. Peer groups deliver the fastest payoff, she added, measured by quicker decisions and higher confidence in the organisation’s April 2025 cohort.
“Support has to meet people where they are, even taking into account seasonal term times for those with kids,” she added.
Launched in April this year, The Founder’s Sanctuary is a nine-week programme that combines access to advisors, strategy sessions and wellness resources in a peer-led format. It is positioned as a lower-cost, more flexible alternative to traditional accelerators and coaching. McGuire – whom the organisation says is among the 0.5 per cent of women to have successfully exited a business – argues that protecting time for founder-to-founder exchange reduces isolation, while “overworking in silence” makes it worse.
The wider evidence
Independent research points to a broader loneliness problem at work and to clear performance risks.
Workplace loneliness remains widespread. Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2024 found that one in five employees said they felt lonely “a lot of the previous day,” with higher rates among employees under 35 and among fully remote workers (25 per cent remote vs 16 per cent on-site).
The World Health Organisation has elevated social connection to a global health priority. Its Commission on Social Connection estimates about one in six people worldwide experience loneliness; in May 2025, Member States adopted the first-ever World Health Assembly resolution urging policies and programmes to foster social connection.
Public-health guidance also links loneliness to business performance. The US Surgeon General’s 2023 advisory warns that loneliness and social isolation are associated with lower productivity and engagement at work and calls for employer action to rebuild connection.
Academic literature connects stress and burnout with decision quality. Peer-reviewed work associates burnout with executive-function deficits, while reviews show stress alters how people make high-pressure choices – patterns consistent with delayed or more conservative decision-making.
Founder-specific data mirror the trend. Startup Snapshot’s The Untold Toll (2023) reported 72 per cent of founders said entrepreneurship affected their mental health and 37 per cent reported anxiety; separate reporting notes only about 10 per cent feel comfortable discussing stress with investors.
“Entrepreneurship doesn’t need to be a lonely endurance test. With the right mix of expert input, peer accountability, and well-being support, founders build not only stronger companies but more sustainable lives,” said McGuire.
