Founders used to be nerds working out of garages. Now, they're rockstars flaunting their status on social media and cozying up in members-only clubs. That’s the transformation Des Traynor, cofounder and chief strategy officer at Intercom, has witnessed firsthand. Reflecting on how startup culture has changed since he founded his company in 2011, Traynor says the current climate is filled with clout-chasing entrepreneurs, and he blames platforms like TikTok and the Hollywood glamorization of startups in The Social Network for distorting the appeal of founding a company.
In a recent appearance on the “Cheeky Pint” podcast hosted by Stripe’s John Collison, Traynor said it used to be easier to invest in people when being a founder was still uncool. Now, with social media hyping up entrepreneurship and AI-fueled funding rounds handing millions to barely-graduated founders, it’s become more performative than purposeful. Traynor said, “I blame, genuinely, The Social Network. I blame the entrepreneurial lifestyle. I blame TikTok.” Collison responded by pointing to Soho House, the members’ club frequented by influencers and startup elites, as part of the problem. Traynor agreed, saying remote work culture played a role too.
In an email, Traynor didn’t hold back. He warned would-be founders not to waste their lives LARPing as entrepreneurs for social media attention. “Look, you get one shot at this life, don’t waste it LARPing as a startup founder for followers,” he wrote. “If you're starting a startup so you can make it a part of your Instagram lifestyle, you'll quickly realize that your feed isn't real life, likes don't pay any bills, and there's only so much demand for your ‘laptop on the beach’ pictures (read: zero).” For Traynor, there is only one legitimate reason to found a company: a relentless desire to build something meaningful that makes a genuine contribution to the world.
He emphasized that this deep, intrinsic motivation is critical for surviving the punishing demands of startup life. “The work rate is insane,” Traynor wrote. “You’re never off the clock, you're pinged 24/7/365. So you really have to want it.” He predicted that founders who chase the aesthetics and attention of the startup lifestyle without that internal drive will burn out slowly, wasting their most productive years on ego and image management. “They will fail in very slow motion,” he said.
Eventually, he argued, the truth catches up with them. “Sooner or later you realize that to actually make it work, it’s less about late-night selfies and hashtags, and more about ‘make something people want,’ ‘write code and talk to users,’ ‘9-9-6,’ and all that other stuff that isn’t quite as glamorous or sharable,” he said. That 9-9-6 reference working from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week has become a rallying cry for serious startup founders, many of whom have ditched party culture for air mattresses and takeout dinners.
The new generation of entrepreneurs, according to Traynor, should brace themselves for hard realities. “If that sounds good to you, then come on in,” he wrote. “The water’s freezing and the outcome is unpredictable.”
