A Gen Z employee at a Gurugram startup was reprimanded for leaving at 7 pm daily. When the founder lectured him on having a "founder's mindset," the employee retorted that he is just a "babysitter" whose shift ends and would only treat the company as his own for a 50% equity share, sparking a viral debate online.
A Gen Z employee pushed back against the idea of “founder’s mindset” at work after he was hauled up by his founder for shutting down his laptop at 7pm every day. ut everyone was stunned by his counterargument. Nishant Joshi, who is currently based in Mumbai, shared the incident on LinkedIn involving his younger cousin, who works at an early-stage startup in Gurugram.
He described in his post how the relative received a formal warning for turning off his laptop at seven o'clock at night. He was summoned in the next morning by the founder, who gave him a long talk about ownership, hustling, and the necessity of adopting a "founder's mindset," encouraging him to treat the business as his own.
“My cousin looked right back at him and delivered the absolute truth,” Nishant wrote, quoting him as he said, “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 ends at 7pm.”
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Joshi continued by saying that the concept of a "founder's mindset" was frequently abused in the Indian startup scene, where staff members were expected to work long hours and devote their emotions without receiving compensation.
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Additionally, he noted that whereas founders anticipated CEO-level commitment, pay frequently stayed at entry-level levels, resulting in a mismatch between expectations and incentives.
How Did Netizens React?
The post sparked a lengthy, complex internet debate in which participants shared viewpoints from the founder's and employees' points of view. Many people concurred with the cousin's statement, stating that it was impossible to expect ownership-level dedication without providing stock or significant incentives.
They believed that boundaries and clearly defined work hours should be observed, and that leaving work on time showed a professional commitment to work-life balance rather than a lack of drive.
However, several noted that there were substantial dangers associated with entrepreneurship, such as monetary losses and personal stakes that employees might not fully share. They said that in order to keep the company viable, founders frequently had to work under extreme pressure, which may have affected their expectations of team members.
Others adopted a moderate stance, arguing that early-stage firms may be beneficial learning environments even though employees had a right to maintain boundaries. They made the point that moving beyond clearly defined positions might aid people in gaining a deeper understanding of the company and ultimately help them get ready for their own entrepreneurial endeavours.
