Peter Ninovski, the founder of tech company Brainster, is facing backlash online for a LinkedIn post offering an unpaid apprenticeship with extensive working hours. In his post, Mr Ninovski offered graduates a one-year unpaid apprenticeship. He said while the trainee will not get paid for the stint, it will be a huge learning opportunity as well as a chance to get mentored by him. His offer promised a 0$ first-year salary with a small monthly stipend of $500. He also mentioned that the trainee would be required to work 8-10 hours a day, five days a week.
In his post, Mr Ninovski acknowledged that his offer sounds crazy. However, he explained that it would provide direct access to working alongside him as the CEO of three multi-million dollar companies. He also justified his offer by sharing a success story.
In the list of responsibilities, Mr Ninovski said the trainee will get the opportunity to shadow him across the three companies and gain hands-on experience in both strategy and execution. The selected individual would be directly involved in high-stake projects rather than performing meaningless tasks. The trainee will also collaborate on Mr Ninovski's investments in early-stage companies.
"Be part of the chaos, the problem-solving, and the breakthroughs that define entrepreneurship. Work on some very HOT AI projects. We are building history here. I am dead serious. And you will be part of it," the CEO wrote.
The entrepreneur further stressed that he is looking for someone who can work 8-10 hours a day, 5 days a week. The individual should be curiosity driven and have a strong sense of ownership. He also specified that ideal candidates should be intelligent, hardworking, persistent, and, preferably, have some experience with AI.
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Since being shared, Mr Ninovski's post has gone viral on social media, with many users criticising the offer as exploitative.
"If you manage 3 multi-million dollar companies, it's embarrassing not to be able to scrape some money for this to be a paid opportunity," wrote one user. "I think whoever is crazy enough to accept this offer will be crazy enough to start his own castle!, but got ur point!" said another.
"Although mentorship is extremely valuable especially from serial entrepreneurs like yourself, being a multi-million dollar business owner that is unable to pay a living wage to a young prospect is inevitably going to raise a few questions and concerns," commented a third user.
"Hope this is at least enough of money to pay for food/travel where you at. Otherwise it's a great way to rule out all the hungry and smart people that can't afford your 'opportunity'," one user commented.
