Startup CEO brags about 84-hour weeks, no balance and ppl are lining up to join

I’m honestly baffled. This 22-year-old AI startup CEO just went viral for bragging that his employees work 84-hour weeks. Yeah, 9am to 11pm. Six days a week. Sometimes seven. And instead of being dragged off the internet, the guy got flooded with job applications???

He literally said there’s “no work-life balance” and framed it like he’s doing candidates a favor by warning them. Said it’s part of early-stage startup culture. Okay?? And prison’s part of crime life but we don’t glamorize that either.

What is this timeline??

Some folks online are calling it out as straight up toxic—and I agree. One even called it “modern slavery,” which like… not that far off tbh. But others are out here clapping like “this is what hustle looks like.” Bro. Be serious. We already learned what happens when we glamorize burnout and call it ambition. Nothing cool about needing caffeine IVs and crying into your laptop.

I feel bad for the people working under him, probably scared to quit or speak up. It’s giving cult.

Is this where we’re headed again? Back to glorifying being miserable for a paycheck and “equity”? Would you ever take a job that demands 12+ hour days 6x a week?? I couldn’t do it. My peace is worth more than fake LinkedIn grind points.

6 answers

Anonymous

Community Comment

I used to work around 110 to 115 hours a week in a weld shop as a grinder. That was for nine dollars an hour. Do yourself a favor and never apply for a job that demands that much unless it’s your own business. You are replaceable, and your time matters. Your life is made up of time, and whatever you waste on a pointless job is time you’ll never get back. Don’t let some CEO convince you otherwise.