---
id: "quote-fatigue-and-loneliness"
type: "quote"
source_timestamps: ["§ Borrow perspective."]
tags: ["isolation", "burnout"]
related: ["concept-structural-loneliness", "entity-mike-mcderment"]
speaker: "Mike McDerment"
speakers: ["Mike McDerment"]
quote: "Doubt is born out of fatigue and loneliness, and there is a lot of both when you run a startup."
sources: ["tail2"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-tail2"
originDay: 2
articleStem: "hbr-tail-118-overcoming-self-doubt-launching"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2026/03/overcoming-self-doubt-when-launching-your-own-business"
sourceTitle: "Overcoming Self-Doubt When Launching Your Own Business"
---
# Doubt Born of Fatigue

> “Doubt is born out of fatigue and loneliness, and there is a lot of both when you run a startup.”
> — [[entity-mike-mcderment]], CEO of [[entity-freshbooks]]

**Significance:** A succinct causal summary of how physical depletion and structural isolation combine into the perfect breeding ground for entrepreneurial self-doubt. It bridges two otherwise separate strands of the framework: [[concept-structural-loneliness]] (loneliness → Borrow perspective) and [[concept-cognitive-bandwidth-narrowing]] / [[claim-depletion-breeds-doubt]] (fatigue → Protect your capacity).