Weighing in on the ongoing work-life balance debate, an India-origin chief technology officer (CTO) shared his candid perspective on the challenges of balancing work and personal life while building a successful startup. Taking to X, Dharmesh Shah, the founder and CTO of HubSpot, highlighted the difficulty of maintaining work-life balance, but emphasised that achieving success in building a breakthrough startup requires immense dedication and sacrifice. "Wanting work-life balance is OK. Wanting to build a breakthrough startup is OK. But you shouldn't expect both," he asserted.
"In 30+ years and knowing hundreds of founders, I've never met a single founder that built a breakthrough startup while maintaining work-life balance. Any competitive human endeavor requires sacrifice to stand-out. Whether it's athletics, arts or entrepreneurship. Raw talent is not enough. You have to toil," Mr Shah wrote.
In the following posts, he stated that he is not advocating for unsustainable levels of unhealthy work. "That's hustle culture, and I don't think it works over the long-term," he wrote.
"Unhappiness comes from expecting more out of the system than you put in. Either path is totally OK, as long as you understand that you picked a path. Two roads diverged in a wood, and if you take the one most traveled by, don't think that won't make a difference," Mr Shah said.
Mr Shah's post has garnered mixed reactions.
"Founders have to be honest with themselves and choose their path. You can't build a breakthrough company if you don't understand/are not comfortable with the sacrifices you have to make. Regret and 'things you are missing out on' will always hold you back. You should be either 'in' or 'out'" wrote one user.
"there's no such thing as work-life balance in startups, just life-work integration where your obsession becomes the most interesting part of your life," commented another.
"Well said and 100% true. You can have both - but not at the same time. This is why you should focus on optimising your work-life integration rather than your work-life balance while you are building your startup," said a third user.
However, one user wrote, "I disagree. I met founders who maintain a work-life balance. Prioritization is key. Some days are more complex than others. But ultimately, it's a long-term focus-a marathon, if I may. Consistency and discipline are key to every goal."
"Sacrifice is key to breakthroughs, but dismissing work-life balance entirely? That's a recipe for burnout. Balance fuels long-term success," expressed another.
