The modern tech founder’s myth often involves fast cars, sleek lofts, and glamorous venture-funded design. Yet behind that myth, many startup founders especially early stage are choosing, or settling for, living arrangements that prioritize work, sacrifice comfort, and blur the line between “home” and “office.” A recent profile by Business Insider takes us inside six apartments of young founders amid the AI boom. What emerges is not luxury, but functional minimalism, whether beds on office floors, stacks of ramen, or suitcases in closets. What’s striking is how much this reveals about attitude, priorities, psychology, and the real cost of “grind culture.”
In this piece, I’ll unpack what their spaces tell us about startup culture, what trade-offs founders are making, how environment shapes behavior, and what lessons (positive and cautionary) can be drawn by other founders or anyone chasing ambitious goals.
Profiles: Six Founders, Six Spaces
Here are snapshots of each founder’s living/working setup, followed by patterns and implications.
Regina Lin — ThirdLayer
Regina Lin co-founded ThirdLayer at age ~22. Their live/work loft is both office and home: desks and kitchen on the main floor; upstairs and downstairs beds. Their landlord is also an investor. Prime example: they stack ramen brands as a staple. The kitchen is often a shared work zone rather than purely domestic. Regina sleeps sometime 4-7 am in common area, then retreats to bedroom before morning. Minimal concern for chores (“everyone likes to ‘sit and work’ and not ‘do chores’”). A company cat shares workspace. The closets are under-utilized: no racks, clothes in plastic bins. Bathrooms cramped; beauty or grooming routines often shifted to whichever space is larger.
Boris Skurikhin — Docket
25-year-old Boris Skurikhin’s space is the opposite of decorative. Mattress on floor, a cardboard box doubling as nightstand, a biography of a physicist beside his computer. He minimizes clutter; the sparsity of his room is meant to aid thinking. Clothes folded against windows. Furniture minimal, functional. They moved quickly, from New York, into what they could afford, with focus on build mode, not comfort. He spends much time in the office anyway, so his apartment serves mainly as rest or recharge rather than design showcase.
Kavitta Ghai — Nectir
28 years old. Kavitta chooses Airbnb-style living sometimes to reset creativity. Her space emphasizes “vibe” more than physical accumulation. Incense, designer bags found vintage, record player, meditative music, a small patio as non-negotiable. Kitchen under-utilized; food delivery common. Desk separate from bedroom (to separate work & sleep). Light, clean lines, perhaps less clutter. The setting matters: floor-to-ceiling windows, aesthetics minimal but intentional. Graham recharging through ambiance vs mess.
Josh Sirota — Eragon
29-year-old Josh Sirota’s living is literally in the office: air mattress in Eragon’s workspace. Cots & couch for late-night workers. Upstairs areas exist but not fully set up yet. Clothes scattered, things temporary. There’s a tent for fun or stunt. Office-as-home blur is extreme. Books by startup / business thinkers, energy drinks, snacks litter the workspace. Personal life heavily subsumed by startup life. Sleep location, work location, personal space are physically overlapping.
Jackson Stokes — TrainLoop
26-year-old Jackson Stokes’ apartment is more “decorated” than most. No living room per se; much time spent in office. Bedroom has books from Stripe Press, local art, memorabilia from Google and YC batches. A pricey coffee machine yet to be installed outside office. Prints, art, Bottles of wine as trophies. Some plant life, personal touches. But still very functional: much unlived-in appearance; value in speed over settling.
Haokun Qin — Gale
23-year-old Haokun Qin and cofounder recently moved into a Toronto apartment. Sparse: bed, nightstand, heated blanket. No duvet. Climate or impermanence play in choices: “we’ve been here half the time”. Protein shakes under the bed. Skincare acquired but maybe secondary. Keeps essentials. Moves a lot; doesn’t want to accumulate stuff. Office is three-minute walk away; thus apartment is often less priority.
Common Themes & Underlying Values
From these six profiles, several recurring themes emerge. These reflect values, trade-offs, and the logic of early-stage startup living.
1. Work First, Comfort Second
Across all six, there’s a pattern: workspace often takes priority over traditional “home.” Beds, mattresses, minimal furniture are subordinated to desks, monitors, workflows. The home is a place to rest (if at all), not necessarily to unwind or relax fully.
2. Impermanence & Minimalism
Few founders invest in long-term fixtures or aesthetics. Suitcases, empty closets, unbuilt furniture, temporary sleeping arrangements all indicate impermanence. This supports agility: moving fast, pivoting, spending less on non-essentials.
3. Blurred Boundaries Between Life & Work
Sleeping in the office, working from bed, meals eaten at desks, “common areas” double as filming studios or guest spaces these setups make separation between work and personal life nearly nonexistent. Majority of waking hours are spent in “workflow mode.”
4. Reinvention of Lifestyle
Ramen stacks, protein shakes under beds, minimal cooking, reliance on delivery, cheap cookware etc. are not just cost trade-offs they’re statements about disruption, rejecting norms of domestic comfort. These choices are part of identity: “founder lifestyle.”
5. Performance & Identity
Clutter, frugality, sleeplessness are often worn as badges of honor. Mattress on floor = commitment. Minimalist space = focus. Stacks of ramen = persevering. These choices reflect not only need but signaling: among peers, investors, in newsletters they build identity as someone putting work above everything.
Psychological & Practical Impacts
These living arrangements have both advantages and costs. Understanding both helps founders (and people around them) make more conscious choices.
Advantages
-
Low overhead / Cost Savings: fewer furnishings, minimal furnishing, paying rent for utility over aesthetics means more capital is devoted to product, hiring, marketing.
-
Proximity & Immersion: being physically close to the office or embedded in workspace reduces friction, allows rapid iteration, quicker feedback loops. Sleep, work transitions easier (if exhausting).
-
Focus / Clarity: sparse environments reduce distractions (material or visual), simplifying decision fatigue.
-
Mobility / Agility: ability to move, pivot, change location, restructure without being weighed down by possessions.
Costs & Hidden Strains
-
Burnout Risk: blurred boundaries make rest rare; sleep often sacrificed. Mental & physical exhaustion accumulate.
-
Lack of Personal Space / Privacy: when office is bedroom, when little separation between guests, work, sleep, relationships strain or private life suffers.
-
Temporal Discomfort: missing furniture, unpacked suitcases, basic daily comfort sacrificed temperatures, lighting, storage etc.
-
Social & Family Strain: friends/family may expect more comfort; relationships may suffer. Founders may feel isolated.
-
Deferred Normalcy / Comfort: delayed hygiene in home, delayed furnishing, delayed rest may create a sense of always “not yet there.”
Broader Cultural & Economic Context
These personal stories reflect wider forces affecting tech founders, especially early stage ones.
-
AI Boom & Investor Expectations: In periods where venture capital is flowing, expectations for scale, speed, traction are high. Founders often feel pressure to maximize every minute and every dollar. Spending on “comfort” can be criticized as wasteful.
-
Cost of Housing and Urban Real Estate: In cities with high rent, pressure to minimize housing costs pushes founders into small, shared, or office-sleep arrangements. Buying furniture or non-essential items becomes low priority.
-
Remote / Hybrid Norms: Even when remote work is possible, many founders maintain physical offices or work hubs; thus the physical home often becomes just a base.
-
Founders’ Culture of Sacrifice: From narratives of sacrifice, founders are often praised or expected to put work ahead of comfort — “you’ll sleep when you’re dead” etc. These expectations feed into living arrangements like those described.
Lessons & Strategy: Making Choices More Intentional
What can founders or aspiring entrepreneurs take away? These experiences offer not just trailblazing but cautionary lessons.
A. Be Deliberate About Trade-Offs
Every founder sacrifices something. Furnishings, décor, rest these are choices. It helps to recognize which sacrifices are sustainable and which will accrue big costs (burnout, mental health, relationship breakdown). Deciding explicitly: “I’ll live this way for 6 months” or “I’ll invest in a mattress now so I can work better later” can prevent drift.
B. Carve Out Boundaries
Even in minimal or shared spaces, boundaries help. Separate desk vs bed, designate times for rest, maintain routines (morning-bed-cleanup etc.). Kavitta’s rule about desk not in bedroom is a good example of setting boundaries that mitigate blur.
C. Prioritize Key Comforts Strategically
Even minimalist setups can benefit greatly from a few selected comforts: a good mattress, decent lighting, natural light, or plants. These small investments can pay big dividends for morale and stamina.
D. Consider Scale & Plan for Transition
As the startup grows, as funding rounds close, founders should plan when to shift from “extreme minimalism” to more stable, comfortable surroundings. Recognizing that living on an air mattress or in a loft office might be viable for early zero-revenue days but not sustainable long term.
E. Mental & Physical Health as Non-negotiables
Founders working ridiculously long hours need recovery: sleep, rest, mental downtime. Environments that deny rest (no separation, uncomfortable sleeping, constant work noise) degrade output and health. Having minimal distractions helps productivity, but complete sacrifice may erode long-term capacity.
What Others Are Saying: Reflection and Critique
While many admire this hustle, there is critique:
-
Some argue this glorifies suffering. The narrative that “if you’re not miserable, you’re not working hard enough” can normalize burnout and toxic work habits.
-
Others point out that not everyone has the privilege to choose minimalism (rent, safe neighborhood, reliable utilities etc.). For many, a minimal, spartan lifestyle could feel dangerous or unstable rather than heroic.
-
The glamour of sacrifice can erode well-being: mental health professionals warn that the lack of rest, poor sleep, isolation, constant pressure can lead to anxiety, depression, sleep disorders.
Data & Trends: How Common Is This?
While qualitative, these six profiles reflect broader trends in startup culture, especially amongst younger founders:
-
Increasingly, in tech hubs and accelerator programs, founders report prioritizing time in office over settling into “homes.”
-
Venture capital firms often expect founders to live “lean” until product-market fit or until Series A, etc.
-
Social media often shows "founder dorms," shared spaces, coding till dawn reinforcing norms of sacrifice.
Though I don’t have precise large-scale data on what proportion of founders sleep in offices or forgo furniture, anecdotal evidence suggests the spartan founder apartment is no longer rare it’s now meme-adjacent, part of startup lore.
Implications: For Founders, Investors & the Culture of Work
The way a founder lives is not just personal it influences behavior, expectations, culture, investor perception, sustainability.
For Founders
-
Transparency: be honest with yourself and your team about what you need to avoid burnout.
-
Budgeting for living costs and mental health. Save some funding for comfort or stability.
-
Recognize that performance declines when rest is compromised; optimizing sleep, space, psychological health matters.
For Investors
-
When investing in early founders, paying attention to founder well-being, space, and environment may predict stability or turnover.
-
Funding structures that allow founders to have healthier working conditions may reduce risk of burnout and pivot failures.
For the Startup Ecosystem & Media
-
Promoting images of founders working in discomfort may inspire, but also set unrealistic norms. There’s value in celebrating founder work but also in normalizing rest, comfort, wellness.
-
Media portrayals should balance admiration with critical reflection: showing that minimalism can be stoic, but also show what founders lack.
Spaces That Reflect Values and Challenge Them
The apartments of these six young founders are more than “where they live.” They are statements. Statments of grit, ambition, urgency, prioritization of work. They are tangible manifestations of startup values: speed, efficiency, sacrifice.
Yet they also raise questions: at what cost does this come? How long can someone sleep on an air mattress in an office before the physical and psychological costs mount? How much does minimalism drain what many people assume is the reward of success stability, safety, comfort?
For anyone building something big, these profiles offer both inspiration and warning. The lean life can fuel ambition, but when comfort, rest, identity are neglected, sustainability suffers.
If you’re a founder, or thinking of being one, ask: what minimalism do I choose? What lines do I draw between work and home? How long can I sustain this pace? Sacrifice can be powerful but so is sustainable momentum.
