As starting entrepreneurs we often have to wear all the hats. Founders find they don’t just run the company; they are its marketing team, finance department and everything else that keeps the lights on. While that level of ownership can feel empowering at first, it also creates a common trap I see many early founders fall into—something researchers Richard Eleftherios Boyatzis and Annie McKee call “Sacrifice Syndrome.”
Sacrifice Syndrome describes the cycle of emotional dissonance that becomes the default within a business when a leader is constantly managing small crises, carrying heavy responsibility and navigating the perpetual need to influence others. Over time, this state becomes normalized and it leads to deep burnout. The emotional experience of that cycle sounds like this:
“I feel like I’m behind.”
Behind on marketing.
Behind on tech.
Behind on finances.
Behind on… everything.
That feeling doesn’t come from a lack of talent or education; it comes from trying to do it all alone.
Entrepreneurship in the U.S. is often romanticized as a solo journey.
We celebrate the lone founder pulling all-nighters, figuring it out through grit and caffeine. But in real life, that model creates burnout, self-doubt, and dissonance. When everything is on your shoulders, even small tasks—like setting up a website or writing an email—can feel like an uphill battle.
Every week, people walk through the doors of JumpStart’s Learning Centers carrying so much more than just a business idea. They carry the weight of stress, the fear of failing, and that nagging belief that they’re “bad at technology” or just “not smart enough” to make it work.
In my experience, what these founders need isn’t just another tool; they need the reassurance, structure, and community to know they don’t have to carry it all alone.
That’s where support becomes a strategy.
Community reduces entrepreneurial stress in three powerful ways:
- It replaces isolation with belonging. You realize you’re not the only one confused, stuck, or scared.
- It turns big problems into small steps. Instead of “build a brand,” the question becomes, “What’s one sentence that explains what you do?”
- It reframes failure as learning. In a supportive space, mistakes aren’t proof you’re failing—they’re part of the process.
When founders have access to shared resources—free technology, workshops, coaching through JumpStart’s Blueprint program or our neighborhood Learning Centers—the weight shifts. They’re no longer staring at a blank screen alone. They’re sitting next to someone who says, “Let’s do this together.”
I’ve watched entrepreneurs who came in nervous about turning on a computer leave with a Canva flyer, a polished menu, or the first page of their website. More importantly, they leave with confidence. Stress doesn’t disappear, but it becomes manageable. Tasks feel possible. Progress feels real.
Libraries, community partners and organizations like JumpStart aren’t just offering services. They’re offering permission: permission to ask questions, to start messy and to grow at your own pace.
You don’t need to be a superhero to build a business. You need a circle.
Entrepreneurship was never meant to be a solo sport. When founders stop carrying everything alone, something powerful happens: stress becomes momentum, fear becomes curiosity and community becomes one of the smartest business decisions they ever make.
