Hustle culture is ingrained in Silicon Valley startups, but the constant pressure to strive can take a toll on founders' mental health. We're excited to welcome Andy Dunn, co-founder and former CEO of Bonobos, to TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 for a roundtable discussion on how founders can navigate the expectations of the VC ecosystem without compromising their mental health.
Dan is no stranger to the subject. He was diagnosed with bipolar type 1 disorder during college, but hid his diagnosis from the business world as he grew his DTC clothing brand, Bonobos. In 2019, Dan decided to go all public, giving a TED talk and writing a book called “Burn Rate: Launching a Startup and Losing My Mind.” The book chronicles his struggles with mental illness while building his company, which ended with him being hospitalized for a mental health incident and spending 12 hours in jail in 2016, before selling Bonobos to Walmart the year before.
Dan co-founded Bonobos in June 2007 and pioneered the direct sales sector. The company initially focused on men's pants, specifically khaki pants, but has since expanded into men's apparel in general. Bonobos has raised over $127 million in venture capital funding and was acquired by Walmart for $310 million in 2017. Dan also founded venture capital fund Red Swan Ventures and is the founder of Pie.
Tickets for TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 are still available and can be purchased here. The conference will take place in San Francisco from October 28-30, attracting over 10,000 startup leaders and VC industry insiders for three days of content on the hottest topics in the startup world, from AI to SaaS to space.