Is this particularly endemic to start-up culture? University was also extremely demanding and brought many people to their knees. And while on the one hand, you may work harder than you ever had in your life, you are working for yourself, your own goals. There is a liberation in that (I can certainly speak for myself - to be reminded that every drop of effort I'm putting in is for my own forward movement keeps it going).
I hope those who are young and just learning how hard they can push themselves have a mentor. I owe mine a million thanks a thousand times over.
On the one hand, no. Depression is very common and strikes everywhere.
On the other hand, startup culture does make it unusually difficult to cope with depression. There's a cult of very long hours and complete focus on work, which is a recipe for burnout. Most startups need every employee to be a marketing face of the company – which generally involves a constant projection of optimism and energy, and which in the era of Twitter can require you to keep your game face on 24/7.
Speaking of Twitter: Software startups are the first and most energetic adopters of the internet, the social structure of the internet is not (yet?) well designed – it is still early in its history – and frankly the internet is not an emotionally healthy environment. It's a fishbowl the size of the planet. There are all kinds of things that none of us are comfortable discussing in public, mental health is right there on the top of that list (in American culture, at any rate), and there is nothing more public than the internet.
University is a far less scary environment. There's rituals and schedules. There is, believe it or not, less time pressure. There are lots of peers who are easy to interact with in person. There's restaurants and bars and student unions and clubs and sports and hobbies. There's professional counseling. There's bailout options (you can drop classes, petition for pass/fail status, take leaves of absence). Most important of all, there's less of the culture of relentless optimism. People expect students to get into funks now and then. Everyone knows that sophomores spend hours having crazy philosophical discussions at three in the morning. The Ph.D. is practically basic training in depression-management techniques. Everyone knows that grad students spend evenings sitting around sipping microbrews and moaning about their advisers; back at Cornell they had a T-shirt: DON'T ASK ME ABOUT MY THESIS.
So we should be teaching those new to this, that it's ok to stop and say 'this is hard, i need perspective'. This is not helped by the cult of the founder that is lauded: the strong-willed and headstrong leader who has 100% confidence in her abilities.
You have no idea how much I wish I had a mentor. And I think there's probably a bunch of other people out there who feel the same, even if they're not willing to admit it. It's very lonely and terrifying entering this demanding world with no guidance whatsoever.
Reach out to someone you trust and ask for an introduction. Imagine: in a year, with some advice, you'll be so much further along than having to try and figure everything out for yourself. A mentor can just be someone you trust who will listen and give perspective as you go along, it doesn't have to be a business mogul, but ideally someone who has had to make tough decisions in their career somehow and has something to offer.
yes, this is endemic to startup culture and it is different from university - at universities, you are part of a collective group trying to graduate. in a startup, you are (for the most part) alone with your cofounder. it's a much more individualistic type of pursuit, and this brings extra stress.
I hope those who are young and just learning how hard they can push themselves have a mentor. I owe mine a million thanks a thousand times over.