I haven’t given up because I believe in what we’re doing (most days) and I want to see if I’m capable of turning this thing around.
I appreciate this comment a lot. Thank you.
So two things:
1) For what it's worth, you're not alone. As someone who walks a similar path, I want to give you sincere encouragement to keep going!
2) To the degree that you've already done this, try to build a social circle around you of people who will can relate and enthusiastically encourage you through failure. There may be an international club you could join, a group of CEO friends you can pull together, or maybe you start a Meetup.com group. I don't know what will work for your specific circumstances, but something will.
Best of luck!
But the lessons I learned were invaluable and could not have been learned any other way.
And - the next thing I started achieved Product Market Fit right out the gate.
Premiata Forneria Marconi is an Italian progressive rock band founded in 1970 and which continues to the present day. They were the first Italian group to have success internationally. The group recorded five albums with English lyrics between 1973 and 1977. During this period they entered both the British and American charts.
The job has its downsides, and the worst thing that can happen to you is 1) be a first-time CEO, 2) have no PFM, and 3) have no safety net. If you hit that trifecta, it's not going to be easy. But here's the deal - you'll get through it, and you'll come out on the other side with a much improved mental model that will allow you to be more successful in your next go around. You may or may not ever achieve market-level compensation, and you may even end up in debt. But it will get easier each time you try, it will come the closest to being your own boss, you will learn more than doing anything else, and most importantly, you won't turn 70 and think of yourself as having not taking enough chances in your life.