Perhaps this shows that I don't want my own business enough, but one of my biggest concerns is that I won't have time to see friends or enjoy any hobbies (or read HN!) any more. Is it really true you end up with zero personal life, and if so, for how long? I understand it varies greatly from founder to founder, but I'm still curious.
I don't believe that this should ever go to zero. I think the heart of this question is : how do you maximize long term productivity? For me, if I work more than 70-77 hours a week for an extended period, my productivity drops. I can flirt with 90 hours in a pinch, but once I break 70 hours I start to make mistakes. I don't know about you, but my experience in writing software is that it is like poker in the sense that a single mistake can end up costing a lot. So, that translates to an optimal 10-11 hours a day with an occasional 12 hour day. This leaves 5-7 hours of free time per day. I also believe that a balanced mind, body and emotions leads to better results than overemphasizing one or the other. So, I focus on exercising to keep a sound body, sleeping 7-8 hours per night and spending an hour or two relaxing every day. Of course, I'm not rich yet, either.