"“The worst advice I hear young founders talk about all the time is that they want to work 18 hours a day. How stupid is that?” O'Leary said in a video on Instagram, sporting a red, cheetah-print top and floral pants. The admonishment comes as everyday workers are increasingly expected to work longer hours. The 996-a 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six-day-a-week work schedule that was outlawed in China in 2021-has been newly glorified in Silicon Valley."
"“This idea that you don't get any sleep, as if it's good for investors, is sheer stupidity,” he said. Eating well, getting sleep, and exercising are “how you optimize,” he added. But contrary to popular belief, working hard does not mean neglecting to take care of yourself, O'Leary said. The message frames health habits as performance tools rather than distractions from success."
"O'Leary is clear-eyed on where he thinks young founders should be focusing their attention: AI. In March, he said if he were a 20-something today, he'd be going all-in on either helping small businesses implement tools or developing data centers. “There's going to be a massive amount of people wanting to use it that don't know how to and they're willing to pay to solve that pain point,” O'Leary said."
Gen Z founders face a tradeoff between protecting mental health and maintaining work-life balance while pursuing success. Kevin O’Leary criticizes advice that encourages working 18 hours per day, calling it harmful and irrational. He argues that lack of sleep is not beneficial for investors and that founders should optimize through adequate sleep, healthy eating, and exercise. He also points to longer-hour expectations in parts of the tech industry, including schedules that have been normalized despite being harmful. O’Leary recommends that young founders focus on AI, either helping small businesses adopt tools or building data centers, because many people will pay to solve AI-related pain points they cannot handle themselves.
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