Silicon Valley loves its mythology. The unicorn founders, the billion-dollar exits, the “move fast and break things” bravado. What’s harder to see, and even harder to survive, is what happens in the messy middle: the burnout, the biases, and the daily trade-offs leaders make to stay in the game. We’ve lived it. Our careers in tech took us through exhilarating wins and bruising setbacks, from leading major product launches to navigating toxic cultures that quietly reward burnout.
