VC Founder Sparks Debate with 7-Day Workweek Philosophy

Harry Stebbings, the young founder of 20VC, recently set off a heated discussion after suggesting on LinkedIn that a relentless work schedule is crucial for building multi-billion dollar businesses. He believes that a seven-day commitment is necessary to keep up with today’s demands.

When aiming for a $10 billion business, Stebbings asserts, extreme commitment is essential. However, those content with merely a successful venture may not need to adopt such exhaustive hours.

The online chatter he generated also revived debates about the notorious '996' culture from China, a grueling six-day work diary that critics blame for severe staff burnouts. Despite its official ban, this culture persists in some enterprises.

Cultural Reactions and Work-Life Dynamics

European workers responded unfavorably to Stebbings' post, whereas many in the U.S. appeared to find his seven-day advocacy unsurprising. This divergence highlights cultural differences in attitudes toward work-life balance.

Stebbings, managing a firm with two dozen employees, emphasizes the importance of managing personal limits and encourages his team to de-stress, for instance, by exercising during lunch breaks.

Stebbings’ Personal Work Routine

He himself has crafted a rigorous yet nuanced routine: engaging in morning gym sessions and combining business meetings with mid-morning walks in Hyde Park. This routine helps him clock 30,000 steps daily, including weekend marathons with family.

Though advocating for breaks, Stebbings rarely takes them. He reports only two short vacations in over a decade. His long working days often stretch past midnight, with sushi as his first meal taken during evening strolls.

Mindset and Employee Perspectives

Starving the brain, he notes, boosts alertness, an energy state he describes as inherited from ancestral survival behaviors. His employees resonating with this work ethos often stay late voluntarily, driven by meaningful, well-compensated tasks.

Stebbings views achievement and momentum as happiness catalysts, asserting that strategic persistence facilitates societal contributions and success.

Long-Term Viability of Intense Work

Despite his advocacy, Stebbings acknowledges such an intense approach should be finite, ideally three to five years. It’s a method to gain an edge early in one's career, after which operational efficiencies can sustain productivity with reduced intensity.

Personally, he chose a lengthy period of heightened exertion, while recognizing that past the initial years, work rhythms should evolve to allow more breaks.

Stebbings reinforces the urgency of this discipline, particularly in Europe, within what he terms a global contest for efficiency and data mastery.