A huge debate was sparked off by Mahalo founder Jason Calacanis when he perhaps unwittingly said words that he has now retracted:
Fire people who are not workaholics... come on folks, this is startup life, it's not a game. don't work at a startup if you're not into it--go work at the post office or stabucks if you're not into it you want balance in your life.
After irate bloggers raised their voice against this philosophy (Duncan Riley of TC) Jason "clarified" that he actually meant hiring "people who love their jobs". I find it a bit discomforting -- because the statement was followed up with the "you're not into it you want balance in your life" bit. I am currently at a startup and I am passionate about what I do, but I am equally passionate about having quality time with my family. No discussion on that.
Though Calacanis has been defended by Mike Arrington of TechCrunch the danger is that I have lately met several startup folks chasing the *sole* dream of millions of $$$ who will unconscionably hurt their employees after a public statement of this type. To that extent, I have further lost a bit of faith in the startup scene. Large companies revel in their Beuracractic ways, startups now have their own agenda -- of not letting people have a personal life. I know I sound disillusioned. Here is Arrington's interpretation of Calacanis's retracted post:
Some of Calacanis’ points were probably written in haste, like his statement “Fire people who are not workaholics” (he later changed it to “Fire people who don’t love their work”)...Overall, I get the impression that if he had spent just a few minutes editing his post, he would have had a 100% different reaction from readers.
If you are at a startup what is your experience? Saving money and being careful with finances at a startup -- sure that makes sense. But taking control over people's lives -- will that change the world to a better place? I stand-up for my team members who are overworked and tend to agree with Allen Stern:
Short term his strategy works, but won't in the long run. Burnout comes quick and with all of the current opportunities out there, people will leave when they are burned out. And when they leave, it will be at the worst time.
