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The European Founders are pressured to take to the toxic culture of “996” in China on LinkedIn, and they repel back.
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The European launch scene recently was shaken Discussion LinkedIn With some venture capitalists who put pressure on the founders to accept the overstretch culture to compete on the world stage.
The “996” labor culture prevails in China and has been accepted by various technological giants, including Alibababa Jack ma and Titlok bytensBut the system was also the subject Protests In recent years. Technical workers in Europe said CNBC in 2021 that they denied work proposals, dismissing interviews or even refusing a role, learning about the Tiktok 996 working culture.
Sebastian Beker, a general partner in the Swiss company VC Redalpine, added a discussion about LinkedIn, referring to the new German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who called for the removal of the legal limit of eight hours a day in Germany, trying to increase efficiency while maintaining the 40-day week.
Beker – Note Merz’s offer is not far enough because “40 hours a week will not cut it.”
“The Silicon Valley 60-70 hours is no exception-they even have a term: 996-from 9am to 9pm, six days a week … We can have as many smart, ambitious people, but if we are consistently worked, we will not win,” Beker said.
Index Ventures Martin Minhot’s partner in London interpret At LinkedIn, 996 arose in China and “calmly became the norm” at the international level startups.
Part of the reason for this last push is that there is a persistent look at what is the technique and starting scene of Europe retractable Behind the US and China, both of which have produced technological giants and known intensive work crops.
“What Europe really needs is no more fuss-porn is more aggressive.”
Sarah Werner
Co -founder Husmus
However, Suranga Chandratillake, General Partner at Balderton Capital, told CNBC to do so that these views are outdated, since in recent years Europe has produced a Deca-Corns-Company worth more than $ 10 billion, including Klarna, Revolut, Wise and Checkout.com. The continent still has to produce a technical firm trillion dollars like Nvidia.
“The European Technology and Ecosystem Market continues today in the US and Asia … Back in the 1980s, the European technological scene was behind the technology scene on the US West coast, but this is not the case,” Chandratylak said in an interview.
Calls for Europe accept 996 work culture caused the wave of backlash. CNBC talked to the seven European startup and VC founders why they disagree.
“Fetishization of overload”
The founders and VK stem from the worship of the Chinese culture of 996 or in the 24/7 in Silicon Valley, the founders and VCS said.
“It is about fetishization of overstresses, not reasonable work … This is a myth,” Chandratylak said. “California tells stories very well and there are many myths around the concept of how startups look … There is hard work, but if you really spend time in this ecosystem, you find that many people work very hard, but there are periods where they don’t work.”
Nina Mohanta, a native of Silicon Valley and founder of London Flowering moneysaid that there are actually “strong consequences and unintentional consequences” for the adoption of an aggressive overstretch culture
“You should only think about the revolut and the culture they have probably the closest we have seen in Europe before the 996 culture, and they fought,” Mohanth CNBC said. “Their collection speed was incredibly high in their team and they even Struggled to get a bank licenseAnd their culture was actually called one of these reasons. “
For his part, Revolut told CNBC that it works in a “high -performance, high -performance environment”.
“In accordance with this, we developed as we support our people: through the behavior based on values, structured development and culture, which is joint, complex and built for scale,” the spokesman Revolut said.
Noah Hamala, the general partner in “Do not throw Ventures”, noted that “there is no need 996” and that these values often disagree with European thinking and regulation.
“The most successful companies in Europe – from Spotify to SAP to ASML – have not reached the domination through overload, but through sustainable innovative crops,” Hamala said.
He offered examples of silicone valley Uber and MetaBoth companies that have expanded to Europe and faced mass control.
“These examples show how” quickly and breaks things “Silicon Valley is often violated against European values around the rights of workers, privacy and sustainable business practice,” Hamallah said.
“I hope my competitors make 996”
Gen Z and Millennials have “less tolerance” for toxic crops, Jas Schembri-Stothart, said Luna founder.
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Always on the culture reduces the content and creates a turning door of talent, Sarah Werner, co -founder Husmus, CNBC reported.
“Entertainment today is a labor productivity crisis tomorrow,” said Werner. “Personally, I hope my competitors do 996. It will greatly facilitate poaching when they decide that they are enough.”
Lady Satyanatan, the senior partner of the Bethnal Green Ventures, said she “appoint” working hours, especially if it means he is at risk of working workers.
“Optimization of work does not always lead to better productivity or assistance in differentiation from other companies if you have done a job devoid of meaning,” Satyanatan explained.
Meanwhile, the youngest generation at work is less likely to overwhelm and strive for this Prioritization of the balance of work and life.
Jas Schembri-Stothart, founder of Luna, health and healing apps for teenage girls, said 996 would take young talents from European startups.
“People may be overloading for a while, but in the end it leads to hacking and even grievances, especially with Gen Z and under-millennia, there is much less tolerance for toxic turmoil,” Schembri-Stothart said.
Ecosystem launching Europe must be stronger
The founders insist that instead of increasing working time, startup requires more financing and resources to position themselves as key players on the world run.
“What really needs Europe is no more fussy-porn is more aggressive,” Werner said. “At the right level of capital, our startups can hire enough talents to work intensively without breaking itself. If a team of 10 burns to keep up with the startup IR with 50 people or the Chinese government, this is a problem not in their endurance, it’s their table.”
In fact, since 2015, technological startups have missed almost $ 375 billion in growth in Europe, and the founders lost potential $ 300 billion in European investments, reports The State of European Equipment Atomico The report published in 2024. In addition, every two companies that collect financing are resorting to the US for capital, not for Europe.
“In fact, you need European startups, it is access to the right financing resources, talents and support-fast growth, innovation and effective scale,” Schembri-Stothart said. “The venture landscape in the US is a completely different ballroom game, and it is difficult to compete with this without a stronger ecosystem.
“There are seasons”
The founders acknowledged that intensive bustle and grinding is required for starting life, but this is a more nuanced picture than just to take 996.
Timothy Arma, co -founder and former CEO of Fanbytes, a marketing firm he Sold for eight digits In 2022, CNBC said that he was a “huge fan” of this new push 996, but admitted that the terms were key.
“I think there are seasons, but I also think that if you are the first founder or if your main goal is to create wealth, I will be very sincere if it’s your season and you are back, then you are not serious about it,” he said.
Armoo said there are no excuses because AI allows entrepreneurs to be as effective as possible as it can reduce certain workers in manual mode.
Meanwhile, Mohanty Bloom Money said that when she is out of sleep, she works. “I think the teams in the early stages are usually almost unconscious or not to mention it, work in 996, because when you are early, you just need to fuss more strongly, and especially if you are the founder, you always work and always work, and it can be very difficult.”
Schembri-Stothert pursues the line using your team to produce more work. “This is my choice to work on weekends, but I never expect my team to certainly not glorify my teams to the breaking place.
Silicon Valley Tech Exec Dion McKenzie warned that 996 culture expectations could make VC funding even more unavailable for startups in the early stages.
“My fear is that since these new norms and trends become status and benchmarks to obtain financing, it eliminates so many brilliant founders who appreciate their mental health and/or cannot make an obligation to 996 with the concerns of duties or be a father,” McKenzi said.
