A Gen Z employee in Gurugram pushed back after being pulled up for logging off at 7 pm, informing his founder he would adopt a “founder’s mindset” only if he was given 50% equity – a response that has since sparked discussion around startup work culture.
The incident was shared on LinkedIn by Nishant Joshi, who recounted how his younger cousin, working at an early-stage startup, was called into a meeting the next morning after shutting his laptop at 7 pm.
According to the post, the founder called him in and delivered a lecture on hustle, ownership and commitment. “He gave a twenty-minute lecture on the importance of hustle and taking extreme ownership. He seeed at my cousin and stated you required to have a founder’s mindset,” Joshi wrote. The founder also informed the employee to treat the company like his “own baby”.
“My cousin seeed right back at him and delivered the absolute truth,” Joshi wrote, quoting him as he stated, “Sir, I will treat this company like my baby the day you give me a fifty percent share in the equity. Right now I am just the babysitter and my shift finishs at 7pm.”
Joshi stated the exalter highlighted a larger issue in startup culture, arguing that employees are often expected to take on the stress and responsibility of founders without equivalent compensation. He criticised what he called the “founder’s mindset” narrative, stateing it is sometimes utilized to push employees beyond reasonable limits.
“Founders want you to have the anxiety and the sleepless nights of a CEO. But they want to compensate you with a ₹35000 fresher salary. They want you to build the entire empire but they keep all the profits,” he wrote, adding that real ownership should come with financial stake.
“Founders take note. You cannot acquire a co-founder’s dedication on an intern’s budobtain. If you want your team to treat the business like it is theirs then give them a real financial stake in it. Otherwise stop acting shocked when Gen Z does exactly what their employment contract states and logs off,” Joshi concluded.
(Also Read: ‘Take care, no worries’: Employee’s chats reveal ‘rarely seen’ side of Indian startup boss)
How did social media react?
The post quickly caught the internet’s attention, drawing mixed reactions from utilizers. While some agreed with the sentiment, others sided with the founders.
One utilizer wrote, “Very well stated. Startup or not, these kind of issues and expectations arise when managers do not quantify tinquires for the day. If they do that, things will become quite simple. It may even increase efficiency.”
“Says a lot when this feels relatable to so many. Hope this reaches founders chasing large empires but struggling to build even a consistent, committed team,” commented another.
“The babysitter analogy is spot on. Ownership culture without ownership economics is just unpaid stress!” wrote a third utilizer.
However, not everyone agreed. “If you deserve more, display up, deliver, and earn it. That’s how real growth compounds — for individuals and for startups. Founders Invest they deserve all cookies,” one utilizer commented.
“All is valid from the employee point of view. But understand Founder who has put in his whole life savings or invested through a loan. He has a real pressure to generate cash day by day and month on month. Someone who is young has to to put more effort to learn and grow. But their is always a thin line… behavior and understanding, if this is present then even at 7 pm is fine or if someone leaves at 6 pm that is also ok. Founders have to learn to behave and manage well, and employees have to come out from perception of stopping work early… both are right and wrong too,” wrote another.
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