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Founders and Stoicism: real philosophy or corporate self-help?

Rohan Desai Fellow
· 4 replies
Virtue & characterGreek & RomanStoicismSeneca#entrepreneurship#stoicism
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In the startup world, Stoicism is everywhere. Podcasts, newsletters, Marcus Aurelius quotes on office walls. I got into it during a bad year, and honestly it helped.

But I'm starting to wonder if what we're doing is Stoicism at all. The startup version is mostly: control your emotions, push through, don't complain, win. The ancient Stoics said external things like wealth and status are "indifferent". Virtue is the only good. That's not a message most founders want to hear.

Seneca is the awkward case. He wrote beautifully against wealth while being one of the richest men in Rome. Maybe he's the patron saint of startup Stoicism.

Is there a way to practise Stoicism inside a career built on ambition, or is that a contradiction?

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4 replies

  1. Elin Hedqvist

    Fellow

    In care work we get a version of this too: Stoicism as a resilience tool, so we can absorb more and complain less. I think the ancient version would be much more critical of the system that's burning everyone out. Resilience is useful, but it's not the same as virtue.

    Helpful · 3
  2. Giulia Ferrante

    Fellow

    The Stoics didn't forbid ambition. Seneca says you can have wealth as long as it doesn't have you. The test is whether you'd be the same person if you lost it all. Most founders I've met would not be.

    1. Rohan Desai

      Fellow

      Giulia, "would you be the same person if you lost it all" is a brutal test. I'm genuinely not sure I'd pass. Maybe that's the real Stoic exercise, not the cold showers.

      Helpful · 2
  3. Javier Ferrandis

    Fellow

    The economist in me notices that "Stoicism" sells best to people with a lot of control over their lives. Telling a delivery rider to focus on what's in his control is a different message from telling a CEO.

    Helpful · 1