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If you just want a job that pays the bills, I respect your decision, but you should not apply. The hardest and most important problems won't be solved working

If you just want a job that pays the bills, I respect your decision, but you should not apply. The hardest and most important problems won't be solved working 9-5, 5 days a week. Nobody feels like they "have to" come in on Saturdays - we find purpose in our work, and see it as the main way we can have a meaningful impact. We enjoy working, learning and spending time together. We would much rather spend 70 hours a week doing great work than clocking in for 40 hours a week. Plus we do take Sundays off.

hollywood_court 2y ago
"No one feels like they 'have to' come in on Saturdays" yet that's literally in the job description. "Plus we do take Sundays off." Wow. That's very generous.
angoragoats 2y ago
Respectfully, I disagree with just about every assertion you make here. > Nobody feels like they "have to" come in on Saturdays If you list it upfront in your job postings like you're doing here, people will feel like they have to work on Saturdays. Though it looks like maybe your company is just you and a co-founder at this point. If that's correct, it's a little misleading to say that "nobody" feels this way, when the only two employees of the company are the two cofounders that have the most skin in the game. By setting this policy, you are filtering out a wide-ranging group of senior engineers with families, side projects, and other commitments (such as myself) who will read this and move on immediately (or comment "lol" like another reply below). I'm not necessarily just "looking for a job that pays the bills," either; I advised, and then directly worked full-time for, a startup that grew from 2 cofounders in the late aughts to IPOing on the NASDAQ about 5 years ago. Obviously, it's your company, and if it works for you, then great. However if I were an investor in your company I'd have serious qualms with it.
- jonasnelle 2y ago
  I meant that nobody feels like they "have to" come in in the sense that everybody wants to come in on Saturdays. I don't feel like I "have to" work 6 days a week - I do it because I want to. You may say that this is just because I'm a cofounder, but that's not true - I did the same thing at past startups where I was an early hire, but not a cofounder. Because I enjoyed the work, found it meaningful and loved learning. This is the kind of person we're looking for.
  - angoragoats 2y ago
    Thank you, I understood what you meant, but I'm taking issue with your requiring that level of commitment from others, when there are absolutely people out there who would bring a ton of experience to the table for whom your requirements are complete non-starters. Maybe you don't need highly experienced senior people at the stage you're at now, but you will at some point, and by setting this expectation now you're setting yourself up for failure in the future, IMHO (which is why I'd be questioning you heavily if I were an investor).
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
Bluescreenbuddy 2y ago
Have you tried being more efficient? more hours worked =/= more work done
- angoragoats 2y ago
  Agree 100% with this. I have found over the years (even when I was younger) that crunching or putting in a lot of extra hours generally results in subpar work.
- jonasnelle 2y ago
  Totally, working hard is necessary but not sufficient to being extraordinarily productive.
gudd0g 2y ago
[dead]
VirusNewbie 2y ago
>Nobody feels like they "have to" come in on Saturdays Then why list it? I regularly work on Saturdays because I have an interesting problem I want to solve, but i'd never apply to a listing like this because it reads like the company is cosplaying as a high performing startup. I peeked at your resume, and it doesn't seem like you've worked with top tier software teams previously. You may want to hire some outside help to cultivate an actual high performance culture. Notice OpenAI and Anthropic aren't making statements like "six days a week in office"...
jobs_throwaway 2y ago
hilarious. I wish you well on your journey and will discourage anyone I know/respect from applying
- angoragoats 2y ago
  Honestly, the fact that YC backed this company is driving my (admittedly already low) opinion of YC even lower.
CRConrad 2y ago
> The hardest and most important problems won't be solved working 9-5, 5 days a week. [Citation Needed]

hollywood_court 2y ago

"No one feels like they 'have to' come in on Saturdays" yet that's literally in the job description. "Plus we do take Sundays off." Wow. That's very generous.

angoragoats 2y ago

Respectfully, I disagree with just about every assertion you make here. > Nobody feels like they "have to" come in on Saturdays If you list it upfront in your job postings like you're doing here, people will feel like they have to work on Saturdays. Though it looks like maybe your company is just you and a co-founder at this point. If that's correct, it's a little misleading to say that "nobody" feels this way, when the only two employees of the company are the two cofounders that have the most skin in the game. By setting this policy, you are filtering out a wide-ranging group of senior engineers with families, side projects, and other commitments (such as myself) who will read this and move on immediately (or comment "lol" like another reply below). I'm not necessarily just "looking for a job that pays the bills," either; I advised, and then directly worked full-time for, a startup that grew from 2 cofounders in the late aughts to IPOing on the NASDAQ about 5 years ago. Obviously, it's your company, and if it works for you, then great. However if I were an investor in your company I'd have serious qualms with it.

jonasnelle 2y ago
I meant that nobody feels like they "have to" come in in the sense that everybody wants to come in on Saturdays. I don't feel like I "have to" work 6 days a week - I do it because I want to. You may say that this is just because I'm a cofounder, but that's not true - I did the same thing at past startups where I was an early hire, but not a cofounder. Because I enjoyed the work, found it meaningful and loved learning. This is the kind of person we're looking for.
- angoragoats 2y ago
  Thank you, I understood what you meant, but I'm taking issue with your requiring that level of commitment from others, when there are absolutely people out there who would bring a ton of experience to the table for whom your requirements are complete non-starters. Maybe you don't need highly experienced senior people at the stage you're at now, but you will at some point, and by setting this expectation now you're setting yourself up for failure in the future, IMHO (which is why I'd be questioning you heavily if I were an investor).
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]

Bluescreenbuddy 2y ago

Have you tried being more efficient? more hours worked =/= more work done

angoragoats 2y ago
Agree 100% with this. I have found over the years (even when I was younger) that crunching or putting in a lot of extra hours generally results in subpar work.
jonasnelle 2y ago
Totally, working hard is necessary but not sufficient to being extraordinarily productive.

gudd0g 2y ago

[dead]

VirusNewbie 2y ago

>Nobody feels like they "have to" come in on Saturdays Then why list it? I regularly work on Saturdays because I have an interesting problem I want to solve, but i'd never apply to a listing like this because it reads like the company is cosplaying as a high performing startup. I peeked at your resume, and it doesn't seem like you've worked with top tier software teams previously. You may want to hire some outside help to cultivate an actual high performance culture. Notice OpenAI and Anthropic aren't making statements like "six days a week in office"...

jobs_throwaway 2y ago

hilarious. I wish you well on your journey and will discourage anyone I know/respect from applying

angoragoats 2y ago
Honestly, the fact that YC backed this company is driving my (admittedly already low) opinion of YC even lower.

CRConrad 2y ago

> The hardest and most important problems won't be solved working 9-5, 5 days a week. [Citation Needed]