A Gurugram-based startup founder has sparked fierce debate online after sacking an employee just two minutes after the worker asked to work from home for a day. Nikhil Rana, founder of The 15, a networking platform aimed at startup founders, shared a screenshot of a WhatsApp exchange on LinkedIn in which an employee sent a message saying they would not be able to come into the office and asked whether they could work remotely. Rana replied within two minutes, informing the employee that he is dismissed and that the same day would be his last.
Rather than keeping the matter private, Rana posted the conversation publicly on LinkedIn and used it to defend his stance on workplace culture and what he expects from the people he hires.
In his post, Rana wrote that he strongly believes in a no-notice period policy, calling notice periods "theatre" and "a waste of time."
He went on to list the qualities he values in staff, arguing that startups need people who take ownership, people founders can depend upon, those with high agency, individuals who do not wait for the perfect time or situation, and people who can simply "make it happen."
Rana also made a pointed remark about professional skills, stating that skills have "taken the last seat" and that nobody values them anymore because they are now commoditised.
The post has drawn a sharp response from professionals across India, with many criticising Rana for what they describe as a lack of basic workplace empathy and a failure to distinguish between a single day's remote working request and a pattern of poor performance. Others, however, have backed his position, arguing that startup culture demands a different standard of commitment compared to large corporations.
One commenter criticised what they saw as unequal standards, arguing that accountability appears to be "one-way traffic," where employees are scrutinised while founders are readily defended. Another user, however, urged caution, saying there was insufficient context to judge the situation fairly, and questioned whether factors such as the employee's overall performance, the nature of the event, or whether the role required physical presence had been left out of the narrative.
