Burnout in Vancouver founders: what the high cost of building here does to you

Vancouver looks like the healthiest city in Canada. Seawall runs, mountain views, a yoga studio on every block. Founders here still burn out.

The Vancouver version of burnout

Building a company here is expensive. Rent, salaries and the cost of living put pressure on every runway. Add long hours, investor calls across time zones and a quiet expectation to look well, and you get founders who seem fine until they are not.

What does not work

Another app. A weekend away that ends Sunday night with a full inbox. Grand plans to train six days a week starting Monday.

What does work

Small, protected time. Dai's 2% Solution is thirty minutes a day: fifteen minutes moving, five minutes still, ten minutes reading. It is small on purpose, because small is what busy founders keep.

Then honest accountability. Most founders have advisers for money and product. Very few have someone asking whether they slept, moved or saw their kids this week.

A practical first step

Pick a fixed thirty minutes tomorrow. Protect it like a board meeting. Do it for two weeks before you judge it.

Dai coaches a small number of founders and executives one to one, in person in Vancouver and online. If this sounds familiar, the coaching page explains how it works.