How To Change Course And Become A Solopreneur
"The moment I realized I wanted to work on my own."
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This is not your classic entrepreneurial startup story. It’s not about free beer, or late-night ping-pong matches in a trendy coworking space (though to be fair, we did play some ping-pong). It wasn’t burnout that made me reconsider my path.
No, it was a single word I stumbled upon one late night: solopreneur.
And it was none other than David who introduced me to it.
But let me take you back a little and tell you how I got here.
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How I entered the StartUp World to realize that I don't like it
From the moment I started working, I was drawn to the startup world. A brief stint in a big consulting firm quickly showed me that I never wanted to spend my life buried in presentations, working from 7 AM to 11 PM for a company that barely cared about its employees.
No thanks.
In the startup world, I felt at home. People cared, the solutions were innovative and tech-driven, and the atmosphere was refreshingly non-hierarchical. It was a perfect fit for someone like me, with a background in economics and tech.
In 2022, I was finally brave enough and founded my own startup in the field of dementia care. Those early days were exciting. Putting a team together, building the company, and creating something to help people with dementia.
But gradually, that excitement began to fade. What started as a mission to create something meaningful turned into a daily grind. The pressure to scale, the constant rejections from insurance companies, investors, and collaborators—it all began to wear on me. I found myself writing up to a hundred sales messages each day, only to feel more and more pressured, chasing people who saw startups as “cool” but wanted nothing more to do with them.
I started questioning who I was doing this for. It felt more like I was feeding my ego and conforming to society’s expectations of a “trendy” startup founder. But that life didn’t feel like success to me. It felt like I had stepped into a world I never wanted to be a part of—a world where I had to step into a ring with VCs chasing the next unicorn.
For a long time, I thought this was the path I wanted.
But then, earlier this year, I stumbled upon David’s Medium publication about solopreneurship. As I read one of his articles, something clicked.
This is exactly what I wanted. To chase my own goals and dreams at my own pace, alongside people I genuinely wanted to work with, without the pressure from money-driven VCs. It felt like discovering the missing piece of the puzzle. I realized I could finally live by my personal values.
Since then, I’ve started my solopreneur journey. Not ditching my startup completely, but making room for things I want to work on myself.
I’m writing, creating digital products, telling people about design thinking, and I’m loving it. I want to help others realize that they, too, can change paths. They can choose a life that aligns with their values and goals.
While my startup is still running (we’re currently waiting for clinical results), I’ve started my solo journey and have never felt more fulfilled in my life.
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It’s okay to change plans
I learned that it’s totally okay to switch things up. Finding happiness is all about trying new things until you figure out what really works for you.
There are solopreneurs everywhere around us. Chances are if you read this and write on Substack, you are one as well. And you don’t have to quit your 9-5 to be one. You can become a solopreneur building it up slowly next to your job and enjoy the freedom of choosing whatever you would like to work on.
In a world obsessed with hustling all the time, maybe it’s time we start defining success on our own terms.
Thanks, David, for showing me the wonderful world of solopreneurs.
I came to stay.
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What others say about The Solopreneur Stack:
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I think that some people are just wired to be solopreneurs.
Not freelancers, selling their time to clients, not traditional business owners with expanding teams.
Just creative people working alone on their products and scaling through optimization and automation.
I joined the Air Force in 2010. Since then I’ve seen the shift in turning it into a corporation that entices its members to be in the hustle and bustle of awards, promotions and ranking up. I got tired of it. This article resonates with me on a deep level and is exactly why I’m building my own business. Thanks for sharing! Just subscribed and happy to keep reading and learning!