4 ms·

If I were an investor and someone said to me "We are only going to work 4 days a week since we can do 5 days work in 4." I'd challenge with "so why don't you do

by pclark 14y ago

If I were an investor and someone said to me "We are only going to work 4 days a week since we can do 5 days work in 4." I'd challenge with "so why don't you do 6 days work in 5 days?" I am mostly playing devils advocate: I think having a 4 day work week is a fantastic recruitment tool. I do wonder though if a young startup raising it's seed financing said "oh, we only work 4 days a week" an investor may raise eyebrows. Regardless, this is a fantastic example of Ryan Carsons' culture resonating throughout the company.

ryancarson 14y ago
One of our Seed Round investors decided to not participate pro-rata in the A Round because of our 4-day week.
k00k 14y ago
I would respond to the investor with, because it's not about quantity, it's about quality - quality of work AND quality of life. In 2-5 years time, I can't imagine the product would be any better due to that extra day every week.
adrianhoward 14y ago
I'd challenge with "so why don't you do 6 days work in 5 days?" I can imagine a few good answers: * We need to keep the team: A four day week is a major reason they don't get poached. It's a benevolent lock in. Almost nobody else does this. Just reducing team churn to practically zero probably pays for the extra day in of itself (recruiting is time consuming and expensive). * We need to grow the team: We need to get more people in a very competitive hiring market. Having three days of your own each week is a major USP for the company. It lets us attract and recruit the best. * In my experience productivity actually drops if a team works longer hours. I've had teams produce more after moved from about 50 hours coding to about 30 hours coding a week. People suck at estimating how productive they are.
wccrawford 14y ago
They're actually working 40-hours weeks still. They just do it in 4 days instead of 5. They've only shifted the hours, they haven't added to them. If you redefine a workday as 1/6th of 40 hours, then I do 6 days worth of work in 5 days. The number of days isn't really that important when talking numbers. It's only important when talking psychology. You're more rested after a 3 day break, etc etc. After a little longer at this company, I may suggest it here. I'd make it clear they're getting the same number of hours, but I'll be happier and more refreshed each week (and more productive), so everyone wins. I don't think it's quite the right time yet, though.
ww520 14y ago
The reply would be, "why don't you invest in manufacturing companies instead of creative companies?"

by pclark 14y ago

ryancarson 14y ago

One of our Seed Round investors decided to not participate pro-rata in the A Round because of our 4-day week.

k00k 14y ago

I would respond to the investor with, because it's not about quantity, it's about quality - quality of work AND quality of life. In 2-5 years time, I can't imagine the product would be any better due to that extra day every week.

adrianhoward 14y ago

I'd challenge with "so why don't you do 6 days work in 5 days?" I can imagine a few good answers: * We need to keep the team: A four day week is a major reason they don't get poached. It's a benevolent lock in. Almost nobody else does this. Just reducing team churn to practically zero probably pays for the extra day in of itself (recruiting is time consuming and expensive). * We need to grow the team: We need to get more people in a very competitive hiring market. Having three days of your own each week is a major USP for the company. It lets us attract and recruit the best. * In my experience productivity actually drops if a team works longer hours. I've had teams produce more after moved from about 50 hours coding to about 30 hours coding a week. People suck at estimating how productive they are.

wccrawford 14y ago

They're actually working 40-hours weeks still. They just do it in 4 days instead of 5. They've only shifted the hours, they haven't added to them. If you redefine a workday as 1/6th of 40 hours, then I do 6 days worth of work in 5 days. The number of days isn't really that important when talking numbers. It's only important when talking psychology. You're more rested after a 3 day break, etc etc. After a little longer at this company, I may suggest it here. I'd make it clear they're getting the same number of hours, but I'll be happier and more refreshed each week (and more productive), so everyone wins. I don't think it's quite the right time yet, though.

ww520 14y ago

The reply would be, "why don't you invest in manufacturing companies instead of creative companies?"