Welcome back to For Starters. This week is all about tough love for my fellow entrepreneurs, and today we’re taking on hustle culture.
Many of you post daily about grinding, sacrificing, and working 20-hour days to make the world a better place. Let’s be honest—that’s your ego talking. It’s really more about building your wealth and chasing status.
Meanwhile, the real grind is happening elsewhere. It’s the single moms working two jobs to keep their families fed. It’s the dads working overtime after being laid off in corporate downsizing. Often, those are the same jobs your startup is trying to automate—or maybe improve—while you carry a martyr complex about your “sacrifices.”
Let’s be clear: you’ve probably never held those jobs. You’re not an agent in a call center, and you’ve never driven an Uber. You went to college, came out in a position of privilege, and had the freedom to take risks. That’s not diminishing your hard work, but thousands of people who are just as capable will never have that opportunity because they’re too busy surviving.
So here’s what founders need to do: strip away the ego. Stop pretending to be the chosen one. I’m not, and neither are you. Focus on creating real value by engaging with the people who live the realities you claim to care about.
Talk to the single moms, the drivers, the agents—not the tech. Their challenges, insights, and realities should shape the solutions you build. That’s the work that matters.
Skip the performative LinkedIn posts and show real progress. Insights, actions, and outcomes—not lattes skipped or hours worked—are what make a difference.
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