US Entrepreneur Faces Backlash For Promoting Overwork Culture: "Mother Didn't Raise No Quitter"

A US-based startup co-founder is being criticised on LinkedIn for promoting a culture of overwork, disguised as ambition. Emilio Van Cotthem, co-founder of the internship platform Subscription Intern, shared a screenshot of his tightly packed weekend calendar, claiming he "collapsed" from exhaustion. However, he quickly backtracked, presenting his gruelling 31-meeting weekend as a point of pride. "I had 31 meetings this weekend. I collapsed," the entrepreneur wrote, before adding, "Psych - mother didn't raise no quitter."

In the following lines, he continued: "You want to stay ahead? You have to work when your competition is 'unplugging.' Steve Jobs didn't take weekends off - neither do I. Work-life balance? Cool. I'll balance later - after I win."

The post quickly gained traction online, with many criticising Mr Cotthem not only for the tone of his post, but also for promoting a culture of overwork. 

"Bro this ain't nothing to celebrate. We have one life to live, and your company and clients aren't coming to your funeral," wrote one user. "Good for you if that is what drives you. If you collapse from a stroke or heart attack today, was it worth it?" commented another. 

"This is not the flex you think it is," remarked a third user. "I thought this was satire," wrote one user. 

However, despite the criticism, Mr Cotthem chose not to retreat. Instead, he returned with a follow-up post - this time sharing another screenshot of an even fuller calendar and defending what he called the "madness". "People said I 'had no life.' They used my 70+ meeting Google Calendar as proof... But while they were criticising me from the sidelines, I was in the arena, getting my reps in," he wrote. 

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The entrepreneur further listed outcomes from his relentless work pace. "25% conversion rate on sales calls - from hundreds of failed iterations, Doubled our sales cycle speed - we just hit our weekly quota on Wednesday, Record-breaking customer satisfaction - referrals are flowing, And I've never been more locked in, fulfilled, or obsessed with the mission," he wrote. 

"I'm not saying hustle porn is the answer. But I am saying mastery takes volume. Most people want results. Very few want the repetition required to earn them. So no, I don't regret it. Because these reps built the foundation for everything that's working now," he concluded.

However, social media users continued to criticise him. 

"Wasting a weekend on pointless meetings which gets no one ahead. The only thing you are winning at is being the biggest pain in the a** in those people's lives," one user wrote.

"Damn, at this point, your entire life is a meeting," commented another.