An Indian-American CEO of the AI startup Greptile, Daksh Gupta has sparked widespread debate after openly discussing the company’s demanding work culture. In a recent social media post, Gupta revealed that employees at Greptile work grueling 84-hour weeks with minimal work-life balance.
The post, intended to ensure transparency with prospective hires, generated a mixed response, including both death threats and a surge in job applications.
Gupta’s tweet, which quickly went viral with over 1.6 million views, stated:
“Recently, I started telling candidates right in the first interview that Greptile offers no work-life balance. Typical workdays start at 9 a.m. and end at 11 p.m., often later, and we work Saturdays, sometimes also Sundays. It felt wrong to do this at first but I’m convinced now that the transparency is good, and I’d much rather people know this from the get-go rather than find out on their first day.”
now that this is on the front page of reddit and my inbox is 20% death threats and 80% job applications, here’s a follow up
– to everyone who is overworked and underpaid at their software jobs esp outside the US, i feel for you, and i’m sorry this struck a nerve. the people… pic.twitter.com/RzAM75DiG2
— Daksh Gupta (@dakshgup) November 10, 2024
The post sparked an intense online debate about work hours and workplace culture, with critics accusing Gupta of promoting a “toxic culture.” One user questioned the sustainability of such practices:
“Transparency is great, but what makes you think this will help your company succeed over just giving weekends off to increase productivity and improve work quality in fewer hours?”
Others acknowledged Gupta’s honesty but challenged the effectiveness of his approach. However, Gupta defended his stance, clarifying in a follow-up post:
“Now that this is on the front page of Reddit and my inbox is 20% death threats and 80% job applications, here’s a follow-up. The people that work here had 6-fig 20 hr/week jobs before this, and can go back to them any time.”
Gupta emphasized that the high-pressure environment was a temporary strategy for the startup’s early stages, not a long-term model. He also addressed criticism about his heritage, asserting that his approach was shaped by San Francisco’s tech-driven culture, not his Indian origins:
“Lot of Indian hate coming from this post so I want to clarify that I am like this not because I’m Indian but because I’m San Franciscan.”
Despite the backlash, Gupta stood firm, stating that Greptile’s culture appeals to individuals who thrive under pressure and are willing to make short-term sacrifices for long-term success.
