What I learned about entrepreneurship while sitting in a bomb shelter
Sometimes your business plans shatter, hit by a half-ton ballistic rocket, figuratively - or literally.
Spending time in a bomb shelter multiple times a day gives me time to think about death - the real death of human beings, but also death of plans, visions, aspirations, ambitions, and identity.
Here's my "what I learned about entrepreneurship while sitting in a bomb shelter" piece.
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You were working towards something beautiful, something meaningful. Your startup was going to change lives, disrupt industries, make the world better. You had it all figured out.
Until you didn't.
Sometimes life throws you a curveball that shatters your plans completely. Maybe it's not missiles - maybe it's burnout, or a key employee leaving, or losing your biggest client.
The hardest part isn't the logistics. It's the emotional devastation of watching your vision die.
Most entrepreneurs try to push through. We're doers, builders, problem solvers. Our instinct is to work harder, pivot faster, find solutions. But sometimes the path forward requires something different - it requires us to grieve.
In Jewish tradition, when someone dies, we observe Shiva - seven days of mourning where we step away from normal life. We sit on the floor, tear our shirts, and let ourselves feel the full weight of our loss. Friends and family come to comfort us, but they don't try to fix anything. They just witness our pain.
Your business setbacks deserve the same respect. When a future you've been building towards dies, you need time to process that loss. Not to strategize, not to pivot, not to rebuild - just to grieve.
The emotions come in layers. There's the initial shock and denial. The anger at circumstances beyond your control. The guilt over things you could have done differently. The deep sadness of letting go. The fear of what comes next.
Each layer needs its own time and space.
Working through grief doesn't mean giving up. It means acknowledging that something real has been lost and honoring that loss before moving forward. It means letting the experience change you instead of trying to power through unchanged.
This process can't be rushed. Sometimes it takes days, sometimes weeks, sometimes months. The timeline isn't what matters. What matters is allowing yourself to feel what you need to feel, to let go of what needs to be let go, to die to your old self so a new self can emerge.
Only then can you truly see the path forward. Only then will your next steps come from wisdom rather than desperation. Only then will you be ready to build something new from the ashes of what was lost.
The missiles will stop falling eventually. The crisis will pass. But the lesson remains - entrepreneurship isn't just about building things. Often it's about letting things die with grace, and being willing to be transformed by the process.
That's how we become not just better entrepreneurs, but better human beings.
🙏