Daksh Gupta, the Indian-origin, USA-based CEO who faced extreme backlash last year for advocating a 14-hour workday, has not changed his stance on long hours and hustle culture. The founder of AI startup Greptile still maintains that most Silicon Valley techies like to work 12 hours a day, six days a week.
A recent piece in The San Francisco Standard described Gupta as “the poster child of AI boom’s grindcore culture”. Speaking to the news outlet, the Indian-origin CEO claimed that the Burning Man festival no longer speaks to youngsters who prefer to work, work out and lead a clean lifestyle.
“The current vibe is no drinking, no drugs, 9-9-6 [work from 9 am to 9 pm, six days a week], lift heavy, run far, marry early, track sleep, eat steak and eggs,” Gupta told The San Francisco Standard.
(Also read: Indian-origin CEO Daksh Gupta, 23, doubts Burning Man’s relevance: 'Current vibe is no drinking or drugs, 9-9-6 work')
Salaries at his startup
Last week, Gupta shared a number of vacancies that have opened up at his San Francisco-based startup. Though he expects employees to put in 12 to 14 hours a day, Gupta also shared the perks that come along with the job, as well as the salaries they offer.
{{/usCountry}}Last week, Gupta shared a number of vacancies that have opened up at his San Francisco-based startup. Though he expects employees to put in 12 to 14 hours a day, Gupta also shared the perks that come along with the job, as well as the salaries they offer.
{{/usCountry}}A junior employee at Greptile can expect to earn anywhere from $140,000 to $180,000 ( ₹1.2 to 1.5 crore) per year as the base salary, along with $130-180k/year as equity.
For employees with more than seven years of experience, the base salary can range from $240,000 to $270,000 per year.
However, employees are expected to work from office every day in San Francisco. Remote work is not an option at the startup.
They do get perks like free lunch, dinner and transportation, as well as healthcare and 401k match.
On 14-hour workdays
Last year, Daksh Gupta had doubled down on his stance on long workdays, saying employees are expected to work 14 hours a day. He likened the intensity of his company's work culture to a "rocket launch".
“If you care about work-life balance, I think that's great. There's plenty of places that operate that way and they're very successful,” he said in an interview with NBC.
(Also read: ‘It's like a rocket launch’: Indian-origin CEO doubles down on 14-hour workdays amid backlash)