Founders in the Wild part two: Sharesies co-founder Brooke Roberts

‍As part of our mission to foster wellbeing for our startup community, we’re sending two of New Zealand’s top founders to Unyoked’s beautiful off-grid cabins for a digital detox and to reflect on whatever they’ve been grappling with.

You’ll hear in their own words what the experience meant to them, starting with how they were feeling before and then what changed after.

First into the wilderness, Sharesies co-founder, Brooke Roberts.

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Post Unyoked Reflection (read the Founders in the Wild Part one here)

I arrived at the cabin full of excitement, with my wheelbarrow full of food and my bag(s) on my back.

Along with the essentials, I took a portable Bluetooth speaker, an excessive amount of books, a notebook and a pen. 

Just before I left I read an Unyoked review which said “ initially your brain may well be ‘screaming’ at you to do something productive”. It helped me get the mindset of not trying to be productive and just relax into the experience.

I had an initial guilty feeling about being offline and not being available for people, my team at work, my kids or my friends and family. Once I gave myself permission to not be on call, I began to relax into the experience and was surprised at how fast time moved. 

The next day I woke as soon as it was light. I heated the kettle on the stove, made a cup of tea and began reading and writing. 

Surprising myself, I ended up having a doze later in the morning. I followed this up with lying around, reading in the hammock, making a sandwich, climbing a hill, reading more, watching and observing the movements around me, hanging out with lambs and getting the fire cranking. 

At some point during the day, I realised my mind had become quiet. I had no to-do list, no actions to take, no thoughts to ruminate on. I’ve never been a good meditator and I don’t actively practice, but I assume that time was a meditative experience for me.

When I entered the wider world again I took some direct actions. The headspace I had gained, helped to provide clarity on a few things I had been thinking about. I left feeling focussed, calm and with a stronger sense of purpose and direction. 

As I reflect on my pre-write up, I think I unintentionally managed to achieve quite a few of my goals. I leave wondering if I should make going to Unyoked at least a yearly habit. 

P.S. Although it was completely safe, I didn’t sleep very well because I’m a scaredy cat 😅

General: a perspective for founders on why taking care of your wellbeing is so critical 

As a founder of a company your impact can be wide. You’re often providing a shift in the world or disrupting the status quo. There can be times in the founder journey where you will ask yourself if the direction your company is heading is the right one? Are you making the most impact you can? Are you creating the best business you can?
It’s important to stop and acknowledge those questions and check your answers. The diary can get loaded with to-dos and should-do’s all the time. Being constantly connected and in communication can create a relentless pace, especially when you’re creating a new path.

I struggle with my guilt around opportunity cost. I continually question whether this is the most impactful thing I could be doing with my time? 

The opportunity and experience of attending Unyoked was a good time to check in with myself to bring me back and ground me in why myself and my co-founders created our company. It provided a great moment of reflection, where I could better appreciate the successes and the wins we’d had and gain clarity on what was next in our journey.

The best part of doing Unyoked was slowing down, not being contacted, uninterrupted thoughts and pure relaxation. Being a founder can mean you’re always on. There is a blurring of the personal and professional - this is a good way to cut back on the noise, check the track you’re on and relax…even if just for 24 hours. 

This story was brought to you in partnership with Unyoked. Head over to their website if you want to learn more.