I Scaled a 500-Person Company on Hustle — But Wellness Made It Sustainable (and More Profitable)

I not too long ago got here throughout a job advert from a boutique U.S. company that learn:

“If you happen to desire a clock-in, clock-out mentality, we’re not a superb match,” and
“Particular work hours do not matter while you’re hungry to develop.”

I have been across the block sufficient to know what that basically means: lengthy hours, weekend emails and a blurred line between work and every part else.

We wish to imagine we have moved previous hustle culture and into the period of office wellness. However job postings like this show many employers are nonetheless promoting burnout, simply wrapped within the language of “ambition.”

I’ve lived each variations of the founder journey: the always-on grind and the wellness-first rebuild. I do know precisely what the hustle takes from you — and the way small, intentional modifications can assist you’re feeling higher, lead higher and construct a enterprise that does not burn you out.

Associated: Don’t Underestimate The Importance of Employee Well-being. Your Business Will Suffer The Most

When hustle turns into your identification

And why is that an issue?

Startup tradition glorifies the concept extra hours equals extra achievement. And positive, early wins really feel good — that dopamine hit retains us grinding. Till someday, the hustle is your identification.

Within the early days of my firm, I lived by this mantra: “If you happen to’re heading dwelling and your competitor’s lights are nonetheless on — flip round.” It labored. We scaled from three scrappy founders to a worldwide staff of 500. However ultimately, I spotted: if I did not put my staff’s wellbeing first, we would not final. Enjoying the lengthy sport takes greater than stamina — it takes sustainability.

The information backs this up. In a latest survey of 138 startup founders, over half reported experiencing burnout previously 12 months. Two-thirds had severely thought of strolling away from the very corporations they constructed. That is not grit — it is a system failure.

Even high-profile success tales aren’t immune. Take Loom co-founder Vinay Hiremath. After serving to scale the corporate to a near-billion-dollar exit, he admitted: “I’m wealthy and I do not know what to do with my life.” His answer? Bounce again into hustle tradition — as a result of it is the one factor he is aware of.

Burnout is a silent epidemic. The World Health Organization formally acknowledged it as an “occupational phenomenon” in 2019. It not often makes headlines, but it surely robs us of focus, clear choices, and, in the end, the longevity of the companies we’re constructing.

Associated: 5 Leadership Strategies That Actually Prevent Employee Burnout

What I did to interrupt the cycle

Well being fuels efficiency — and it begins with you.

When leaders are well-rested and engaged, every part works higher: decision-making, staff morale, product velocity. And it isn’t only a feel-good concept. A 2024 Gallup study of 183,000 companies throughout 90 nations discovered that prioritizing worker wellbeing is a enterprise benefit. This is what they discovered:

• 78% much less absenteeism
• As much as 51% decrease worker turnover
• 32% fewer errors and defects
• As much as 20% increased productiveness
• 23% better profitability

These outcomes aren’t magic — they’re the compounding impact of cultural decisions. And people decisions begin on the high.

For me, the turning level was easy: I bought bored with being drained. I shifted from obsessing over hustle to constructing a rhythm that supported efficiency and wellbeing.

This is how that appeared:

• I set onerous boundaries on work hours. I used to put on 14–16 hour days like a badge of honor. However after 8 p.m., I might spend twice as lengthy on fundamental duties. Now, I intention to wrap by 6:30 p.m., which forces higher focus— and leaves power for all times outdoors work.
• I prioritized consistency over hacks. No detoxes or chilly plunges. Only a regular rhythm of brief breaks between conferences to stretch, breathe, and reset. It retains psychological fatigue from constructing.
• I moved my physique as a substitute of chugging espresso. Quick exercises changed limitless caffeine. Even a five-minute break helps reset my power and cognition. Attempting new sports activities additionally improved my psychological flexibility in shocking methods.
• I let my thoughts wander on function. A few of my finest concepts present up once I’m doing nothing—strolling, meditating, or scribbling ideas in a pocket book.
• I protected my consideration prefer it was my most useful useful resource. Two hours of deep focus every single day—no conferences, no multitasking — lets me discover concepts, form technique, and assume long-term with out working late.

And it wasn’t nearly me. I introduced wellness into our team culture with strolling conferences, breathwork breaks and light-hearted wellness challenges. As a result of a enterprise is just as wholesome because the individuals constructing it — not simply the founder.

Associated: Why Being ‘Always On’ Is Killing Your Innovation, and How to Truly Disconnect

If you happen to do only one factor — do that

Give your self permission to totally disconnect. While you sign off, actually sign off.

No weekend emails. No late-night Slack messages. Do not say you may have “restricted entry” in your out-of-office message. Say you are offline — and imply it. That is the way you construct a tradition the place relaxation is revered, not resented.

The reality is, I nonetheless wrestle to totally clock out typically. While you’re constructing one thing you care about, it is onerous to let go. However if you need what you are constructing to final, it’s important to shield the individual constructing it — you. Wellness is not a retreat. It is not a reward. It is your basis.

And if we would like a brand new period of labor, it begins with constructing corporations the place individuals thrive, not simply survive.