Its a tradeoff one has to live with. All of us lead parallel lives. You needn't be the same person in both the worlds. You play different roles, at times they are totally tangential, hence the problem.
Someone said this to me once, "if your professional life kicks ass... u r taking a beating in the personal front." Its not a universal rule, but I am sure a lot of people can relate to it.
Rather than cribbing about having to make a compromise. I think the best bet is to involve your partners as much as possible in discussions about your venture so that they know how important this is for you and how it is in the best interests of the relationship. Go ahead and ask your spouse for suggestions/feedback and keep her in the loop, never leave her in the dark. Share your vision with her. If she does share your vision, then she is going to support you 100%. Then it becomes a non-issue. Its easier said than done, but definitely worth a shot. I am sure Guy would agree with this approach.
In short - "Try to establish a mutually benefitting connection between the two parallel lives."
Thats a great idea!
My wife and I discussed my reasons for starting a startup and she is being very supportive from the outset, but sometimes gets frustrated that I don't "communicate my feelings" very well. She hardly sees me and doesn't have a clue about computers whereas I'm excited, stressed, anxious, and so focused on technical things for 12 hours a day, I sometimes struggle with the "How was your day darling?" type conversation in the evening.
Without sounding trite, communication is vital in a marriage so working on a startup shouldn't be different to any other important decision you make.
I'll take this involvment on board - thanks a lot...
Someone said this to me once, "if your professional life kicks ass... u r taking a beating in the personal front." Its not a universal rule, but I am sure a lot of people can relate to it.
Rather than cribbing about having to make a compromise. I think the best bet is to involve your partners as much as possible in discussions about your venture so that they know how important this is for you and how it is in the best interests of the relationship. Go ahead and ask your spouse for suggestions/feedback and keep her in the loop, never leave her in the dark. Share your vision with her. If she does share your vision, then she is going to support you 100%. Then it becomes a non-issue. Its easier said than done, but definitely worth a shot. I am sure Guy would agree with this approach.
In short - "Try to establish a mutually benefitting connection between the two parallel lives."