Who do you actually talk to when things get hard?

A Fortune piece from late last year had the CEOs of Apple, Airbnb, and PepsiCo all agreeing on something that surprised me: being at the top is one of the loneliest places to be.

That resonated. But I think it starts way before you reach Fortune 500 CEO. It starts the moment you go all in on your own thing.

There is this structural trap I keep seeing talked about. You can't really vent to your co-founder because they are carrying the same weight. You can't be honest with employees because it would shake their confidence. You can't be open with investors because they are evaluating you constantly. You can't dump it all on friends and family because they care but don't fully get it.

One study found 90% of founders are not open with their investors about what is actually stressing them out. And 81% aren't honest about it with anyone in their life. So where does it all go? Mostly just inward.

I'm building something in the loneliness and social connection space so I think about this a lot. But I'm also a founder who feels it personally. The most honest conversations I've had about the hard stuff happened with other founders I barely knew at first, in random Slack groups or at small events where the vibe was just different.

There's something about talking to someone who is in it too. No advice needed. Just another person who gets the specific kind of weight you're carrying.

Curious how other people here have found their version of "safe to be honest" in this journey. Did it take time to find that person or group? Or do you mostly just carry it alone?