He’s right. I’m committed to getting paid and doing what I want.
Until I have the same unlimited upside as a founder does, I’m committed to work life balance. If you’re a wage employee, there is not point in giving your life to your job.
To be fair, he’s talking to the founders of startups, not employees. But still, he sounds like an ass.
Personally I’d rather have both
Fuck this guy. I say we guillotine him as an example to the others.
I worked at a couple of startups and every single one was a success with good exit strategies, and we had good work-life balance. His view is factually false.
“The people that think that’s toxic don’t understand the start-up game, and they’re just wrong,” he said. “The game is intense. And by the way, if you don’t do that, eventually, you’re out of a job.
For those who disagree, working at a startup is a choice, Hoffman insisted.
But the reward on the other side is second to none; the 100 or so first employees at LinkedIn don’t need to work anymore, he added. Microsoft purchased the professional networking platform for $26.2 billion in 2016.
That’s good for the 100 or so first employees at LinkedIn, but I’m certain that the VAST majority of employees who bust their ass trying to help get a start-up off the ground don’t have anywhere near that end result. I’m sure it isn’t worth it for 99% of employees of start-ups.
But if you want to take on the challenge, hoping that maybe you’ll be one of the lucky ones, go for it, but don’t fucking drag a spouse/significant other, or children into that nightmare. If you want to commit your entire life to a start-up, then fucking commit.
This is what happens when you survey jackpot winners about the value of lottery tickets.
That’s called Survivorship Bias, and it’s a fallacy! I would expect nothing less than irrationality from a billionaire that got lucky and thinks his hard work in particular was what got him where he is.
It’s a fucking lotto. Lucky people always think they’re smarter or more hardworking than others.
It’s like listening to successful YouTubers say all you gotta do is commit to the grind and you’ll achieve your dreams. Even focusing solely on the numbers, it’s literally dishonest.
Not everyone hates their family, Reid.
I’ve worked with a number of workaholics over the years. A few have straight-up admitted that they were taking on extra work to get away.
Reid Hoffman can wake up at 4:30am and begin the important work of eating my entire arsehole.
Says the man who has a maid, a butler, a staff waiting with a coffee and strudel for him at work. Every conference call is set up and waiting on him to start. Everyone is lined up to lick his boots at all time, to ensure the person who’s time is “the most valuable” never has to spend an extra second listening to anyone or anything they don’t want to. Give me a break.
Linkedin is a meat market for capitalist labor. It is very anti- worker, pro capitalist douchebaggery. Fuck Linkedin.
You will never be able to afford a two bedroom apartment with that kind of attitude, sir!
I want to live in a place where life isn’t a game with winner or losers, but a fun experience to share with those you love.
I mean that’s fine for the guy or gal trying to start up their own business, which is what his talk was about, in the class he was addressing.
This should not apply to the workers though which is what way to many of business owners seem to forget once they start touring s profit and hiring people.
What they forget is that other people aren’t going to be as comitted to their business as they themselves are. They’re not going to care as much for the simple fact, that if the business takes off, they’re not going to earn any of the profits. Why would I work 50 hour weeks like the founder, if I don’t stand to actually reap the benefits?
not to mention a lot of US companies have “bonuses” to encourage you, but haven’t the foresight to think that an unmet bonus - usually out of the person’s hands, at least in my experience - is just a pay cut, and pay cuts are the worst thing you can do for morale and productivity.
Fuck off, Reid.
Excuse me sir, we appear to have a different definition of “winning”.
Does “winning” mean you ignore family, friends, and self-care to further enrich giant corporations…? Cuz if so, I suggest this dude jump up his own asshole.
The quotes are specifically about early stage startup founders, not employees of huge established startups corporations.
He (and the exploitive class he is part of) want you to neglect your personal life and be productive so they can do the opposite.
Processing the context, you can see how a lot of internet companies have continued the trend of making wage positions “more entrepreneurial”.
This context does not change anything. Not prioritizing health shows a critical misunderstanding of what wealth is, and how to reap its benefits. You are not likely to be a good business person if you do not understand fundamentals.
That being said, if you’re willing to cheat/lie/steal you can ignore a lot of the fundamentals - which is the route most of these “cofounders” took
I think it’s fair enough to put in some really intense years with the promise of a nice payoff and ability to retire early, as opposed to spreading that effort and payout over decades with work / life balance. The problem is when that same intense effort is asked of anyone who will not be getting such a payout at the end. Even workers with equity in a start-up can get the shaft due to the fine print where the VCs take the lions share of the exit money and the workers end up with a paltry sum to that won’t even cover their medical bills later on after the stress takes its toll on their bodies.
