Startup Founder Apologises After Offering Job Interviews For Tattoos: "I Thought Would Be Fun"

The founder of a San Francisco AI startup issued a public apology after receiving backlash for offering job interviews to those who agreed to get tattoos, Fortune reported. Jordan Zietz, co-founder of Y Combinator-backed startup LemonLime, sparked controversy after hosting an event where a live tattoo artist was present. In a now-deleted social media post, he shared that seven attendees got inked on the spot in exchange for guaranteed job interviews.

The deleted post mentioned that the event was hosted "to meet exceptional people, and find out which of them are just as crazy as we are". He also added that people looking to apply to the company "might want to take notes".

However, this stunt sparked massive backlash, with one user saying, "Imagine getting branded with the LemonLime logo for a job interview, then getting rejected."

"The job market cannot be this cooked that kids have to get permanent tattoos to get interviews," wrote another.

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Critics condemned the move, calling it manipulative and unethical, arguing that it exploited job seekers navigating an increasingly competitive tech employment market.

Social media users accused the company of abusing the power dynamic between employers and desperate applicants by linking permanent body modifications to professional opportunities.

After deleting the post, Zietz wrote an apology post, in which he said he "messed up".

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The startup founder said the five-person company actually offered free tattoos to those who attended the event and nobody was forced to tattoo the startup's logo on themselves.

"What I thought would be a fun, memorable way to meet people was, in reality, reckless, and instead came across as tying a permanent tattoo to (sic) job opportunity, which showed poor judgement," he wrote in the apology.

"Even though participants chose their own tattoos and no one was asked to get our logo, I should have understood the pressure and power dynamic created by connecting tattoos to hiring," Zietz wrote, adding that he simply got carried away.

The founder clarified that interviews were available to all candidates regardless of whether they got tattooed. To make amends, LemonLime confirmed it had reached out to all seven participants and offered to cover the full costs of tattoo removal for anyone who regrets their decision.