Long work hours aren’t new in India’s startup world. But when a Bengaluru-based entrepreneur publicly said his team works 12 hours a day, six days a week, and often on Sundays, it reignited the debate around hustle culture.
Mohan Kumar, co-founder of mobile gaming startup Matiks, shared a post on X, saying: “We have strict office timing of 10 am to 10 pm and 6 days a week. Still, our team members work beyond 10 and on Sundays as well.”
He followed it up by addressing the backlash: “People will criticise this, but the reality is if we have to build the first global product built in India, we need everyone to be all in. Let’s move out from job mindset to building mindset.”
In a separate interview with Hindustan Times, Kumar said the company doesn’t view its employees as staff but as “founding members on a shared mission.”
“We’re not building something for paychecks or survival,” he said. “Of course, not everyone resonates with this mindset, and that’s okay. But for those who do, this journey doesn’t feel like a ‘job.’ It feels like chasing a dream.”
The post quickly sparked reactions online. Some praised the commitment to building a product from scratch, while others flagged concerns about burnout, work-life balance, and exploitative work expectations.
After the backlash, Kumar deleted his earlier post and cleared the air by saying, “Guys, chill, no one comes in at 10:00 am. We play poker and watch Netflix together in the office. We’re all fresh out of college, building our careers and lives from scratch. No one’s just doing a job here, we’re all seniors and juniors working together on a project, giving it our 100%. We have a kind of fun in our office space that you can’t even imagine in corporate setups.”
A user commented, “Ragebait, they know how to farm engagement for their math app.”
Another user commented, “I don’t get it, what’s wrong with people wanting to give their own time to something, nobody was forced, all are working willingly and trying to create something cool. let people hustle, until more responsibility come in life and prevent them from doing so. idk, but i would personally love to work with such a closenit and dedicated team.”