Bridger PenningtonFund Launch & Investment Expert

Holidays Are Hard For Entrepreneurs | Bridger Pennington

4 Jan 2024 · 1 min

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In this short conversational video, Bridger Pennington (Speaker A) reflects on the emotional challenges entrepreneurs face during the holiday season. He describes how entrepreneurs often feel they are building deep, unseen progress beneath the surface—like roots—while outwardly there is little to show, especially around Thanksgiving. He explains the J‑curve phenomenon, where early effort feels hard and unproductive, and how family and friends may not understand this struggle, offering well‑meaning but uninformed advice. Pennington advises creating a mental boundary: love and respect family members, but refrain from taking business advice from those without entrepreneurial experience. The discussion also touches on the contrast between earning a regular salary and the uncertainties of starting a business, highlighting the need for emotional coping strategies during holidays.

Why the holidays are hard for entrepreneurs. You've been working all year and you've been grinding and you've been building and you've been below the surface. You've been building deep roots. You feel like you're moving and progressing. But above surface, above surface, there's nothing to show for it. You come to Thanksgiving.
Hey, little Timmy. Hey, hey, hey, little Bridger. How's that little, that little business you're trying to start? What's, what's going on with that? So cute of what you're trying to do.
Yeah, it's going pretty, you know, it hasn't gone that well, at least on the top end. But we're building this really cool system below. I'm taking this J-curve hard and they don't get that.
Well, yeah, but You know, I've been working my job and I've been making whatever X number of dollars this year. And that's like, yeah, it's one thing to think about a business, another thing to start it, you know, actually make money.
If you're an entrepreneur, you've felt this before from family and close friends, and you need to create a mental block in your brain that, hey, I love that person. They're great. They're a great brother-in-law or sister, whoever that person is in your life. And they're awesome. I love them for that. I'm not going to take business advice from them, though, from someone who hasn't done it themselves.