YC is backing founders who are barely out of their diapers and love to brag about working 9-9-6. I turned 38 today and can't keep up anymore.
As a father to a newborn, I am a strong advocate for 9am-5pm. Plus 10pm-2am. And also 4am-6am.
The Real Schedule of a Startup Founder With a Newborn
Zero Balance
No seriously, there is zero balance if you're running an AI startup right now. If you have kids, you still have to put in the hours.
I'm literally running investor calls with a burp cloth over my shoulder and prompting Claude Code in between diaper changes. I'm operating on 3-hour sleep cycles while a 7-pound human dictates my entire schedule.
Shared Pain
To anyone who is a startup founder and has young kids, I feel your pain. We have no choice as our startup is our baby too. The truth is, work-life balance is broken for founders in this stage.
I don't even have time to finish this post.
Gotta run. Someone needs changing and it's not the cap table.
Final Thoughts
Running an AI startup while raising a newborn means accepting that balance doesn't exist right now. You work the hours you can, whenever you can, because your startup is your baby too.
If you're a founder with young kids, know that you're not alone in this. The grind is real, and so is the exhaustion. If you're figuring out how to turn a bad startup into a successful exit, the path forward requires exactly this kind of relentless dedication.
Keep pushing. Your kids will understand one day.