The more I think about this the more I think that the startup community has evolved a peculiar brand of hazing, in which small groups of diverse young men attempt to forge powerful emotional connections for pursuing mutual goals by subjecting themselves to absolutely unnecessary and artificial torment and humiliation. The hazing is then paraded around as a badge of perverse pride -- a mix of "we're tougher than anyone else" and "nobody else really understands us, because no one else has gone through it."
I agree, but I don't think that this pattern is peculiar, nor is it restricted to the startup community. It's a very common pattern in tech, in big companies and academia as well as startups. I assume that this attitude is a big part of the culture that keeps game developers going, for example.
And it extends to other fields. The finance guys on Wall Street and the Chicago Board of Trade do it. Lawyers do it. Medical interns do it.
Yep, I've experienced it first-hand in the game industry - it's bizarre when it feels like you're the only one who notices what's really going on. But especially in the startup world it seems like you're pretty free not to go down that route. But maybe once you've had your fair share of failure it's the only thing left you feel you can be somewhat proud of, so you cling to it.
I imagine startups (especially when you're watching your money shrinking every day) can induce desperation, and when you're desperate, working crazy hours seems logical. You feel like the world is closing in around you... you have to do something
I think minor forms of hazing can play an important role in teams. It is important to know how your teammates, coworkers, etc, will react when the shit hits the fan, and artificially inducing a similar situation can be a useful indicator. This can go too far, certainly, but lets not discount it completely offhand.
Having been in a couple of startups, I can say the powerful emotional connections are certainly there. But with a burn rate and competition, there is an urgency that can drive the team.
And as a long-time programmer, I can testify to the fact that there are tasks that often have a very long restart cost--thus, it is compelling to keep working long into the night.
But then again, I grew up on a wheat farm, and in the summer, particularly during harvest, you worked until the grain was damp from the evening, and started in again as soon as the sun evaporated the dew. 100 hour weeks were the norm. This schedule was necessary, because your income comes in during a 21-day to four week period, and if that september storm is early, you lose a significant fraction of your crop and thus your yearly income. For a time, my dad also had irrigated land. This required resetting the flow, and the best he could do for sleep was to set up a four-hour flow, max.
I have an uncle, now retired, who raised cows. During February, he pretty much slept in the barn, as there was not much you could control about when the calves would drop. Pretty demanding when the temperature was 20 or 30 below.
These childhood experiences have probably damaged my ability to sync with this modern non-agricultural perspective. To me, the artificial idea of a "job" is still kind of amusing.
But from a team-building perspective, useful for non-solo startups, I think this can be useful and often productive.
> It's as if we're all plagued with a /heavy dose/ of masochism.
Fixed that for you. ;>
Back on topic -- it's not actually surprising that this happens. Shared mildly traumatic experiences, especially ones where there is a visible common enemy, are an excellent way to unite people. That's why the military shaves your head and your DI is a hardcase. It's also why co-founders either founder or become really, really good friends. Even if the startup fails, that friendship may have been worth it.
I agree with you with the fix, but saying that's the primary reason for the military to shave your head...
I don't think so, military shaves heads because long hair brings you a lot of problems in war. From hair in your wounds that will bring infection(the reason pro cyclist shave), to all kinds of parasites that attach to hair in non first world countries, to the time it takes to clean it to be presentable, to making people look different(that's the reason of uniforms too, everybody feels part of the same whole).
