Today’s guest writer is Andrew Willard, global manager of MathWorks startup and accelerator program.

Startups need more than just an idea and capital. 

There are universal needs of a startup; day one begins with an idea and a need for enough capital to reach the next milestone. As you transition from concept to working demo, MVP, and finally to production-ready, new needs emerge. Additional headcounts, such as those in legal, sales and marketing, HR, and finance, will be required, necessitating more funding to support the growing demands.    

What should not be overlooked is the support needed outside of the firm’s mission; founders and early employees need a robust support system in their personal lives. If you are considering becoming a founder or joining as an early-stage employee, it’s essential to consider more than just stock grants and future potential value when making decisions. Founders and early-joining staff tend to work long hours, often 60-80-100 hours a week, and the work can span seven days a week.   

However, for the person, it’s essential to have a conversation with family and friends to establish a plan or agreement for managing their basic needs outside of the startup. My wife was a part of four startups over 20 years; what became routine for us started bumpy. Here are some things we had to address.    

We live in the United States, so our first priority was to determine our healthcare options. We then created a detailed budget for our minimum monthly expenses and mapped out our cash flow. Our budget assumed that my partner’s income was not guaranteed, so we had a 70% value per dollar in the equation. Once the finances were settled, we expanded the conversation to address household needs. It seems amusing in retrospect, but it was shocking how much our routines had to be reworked. Not only cooking but also meal planning, grocery shopping, laundry, and general house and yard upkeep; budgeting and bill paying became a joint activity, so we were both on the same page for monthly spending.   

Expanding our circle, our family and friends needed to understand our new normal: fewer meals out, more gatherings at home, and vacations shifted to lower-cost options. We needed to block out non-work time so that there could be a mental recharge. 

Being a part of a startup is exciting in many unforeseen ways. However, the success of the idea is closely tied to success outside of work.