Find Your Tables
Building a company is lonely. Find your tables, and protect those nights.
One of the best things about living in the Bay Area is being part of so many different social groups. This week, a group of Muslim brothers got together, all working on completely different things. Founders, investors, operators. AI, biotech, fintech, deep tech.
The kind of table where every person is building something ambitious and nobody is pitching anyone.
We talked about the future of AI for three hours straight. Not the LinkedIn version of that conversation. The real one. Where people disagree, push back, and actually change their minds. Then we got into fundraising in this environment, what's working, what's broken, and who's being honest about it.
But here's what I've been thinking about since that dinner.
Building a company is lonely. Everyone says it, but nobody really talks about what to do about it. The default for most founders is to grind. Head down, laptop open, one more email, one more deck, one more call. You convince yourself that slowing down is falling behind.
I've done it. I've gone weeks without a real conversation that wasn't about a deal or a portfolio company. And every time, I come out of that stretch worse. Slower thinking, shorter patience, narrower vision.
What fixed it was never a vacation or a productivity hack. It was making sure to get out of the office and participate in social gatherings like this one. Honest conversations with people who understand the weight of what you're carrying because they're carrying it too.
I belong to a lot of different groups. Founders, biotech operators, VC circles, and groups like this one. Each one gives me something different. But the thing they all have in common is that I leave the table sharper than when I sat down. Because I remembered I'm not doing this alone.
The founders I worry about most are the ones who never come up for air. The ones who think community is a nice-to-have. It's not. Breaking bread with your people is one of the highest-leverage things you can do for your company and yourself.
Find your tables. Protect those nights. They will carry you further than another late night at your desk ever will.
Originally posted on LinkedIn.
