In the long human argument over how much of ourselves work should claim, Zomato founder Deepinder Goyal has taken a clear side: a startup, he says, cannot be built by people who treat it as a job with fixed hours and a detached heart. Speaking on Raj Shamani's podcast, he insisted that the obsession he asks of his senior leaders is not cruelty but the only fuel that early building has ever run on, and he rejected the label of toxicity that such expectations often attract. Whether that conviction holds for the people who live inside it is a question the company's own future will answer.
Deepinder Goyal on 'Toxic Boss' Claims: Startups Need Obsession, Not a 9-to-5 Attitude
Startups can run on nine-to-five hours, but not a nine-to-five attitude.
Mark
Why is this one comment getting attention? Founders say this kind of thing often.
Mimi
Because he said it plainly about his senior team: if they see it as a job, he's out. That draws a hard line between hours and attitude.
Mark
And that line is his defence against the 'toxic' label?
Mimi
Yes. He says a startup can run on nine-to-five hours but not a nine-to-five attitude, and he points to a Friday evening bug as the test.
Luke
Worth noting that the defence rests on his own account. He says people who work with him don't see him as toxic, but the article offers no employee voices either way.
Mark
He also dismissed Reddit posts as old and outdated.
Luke
Right, and the article doesn't say what those posts claimed or how old they are. We only have his characterisation.
Mimi
He does make a case about pay: lots of compensation and equity, and faster growth for those with the attitude.
Luke
Again, his statement. No figures on pay or equity are given, and 'grow faster' isn't backed by any data here.
Mark
So what is actually established?
Luke
That he said these things on Raj Shamani's podcast. Whether it reflects daily practice at Zomato, or affects retention, is unknown from this piece.
Il Polso
- A founder's blunt line, 'If the senior team thinks of this as a job, I'm out,' has set the internet's work-intensity debate ablaze again.
- The tension sits between nine-to-five hours and a nine-to-five attitude, a distinction Goyal draws sharply to defend late-night urgency.
- A hypothetical Friday-evening bug, which he says would keep him at the office past 6 pm, has become the image people argue over.
- Goyal dismisses Reddit criticism as outdated and says flexible leave already exists, while insisting customer-affecting problems cannot wait.
In the long human argument over how much of ourselves work should claim, Zomato founder Deepinder Goyal has taken a clear side: a startup, he says, cannot be built by people who treat it as a job with fixed hours and a detached heart. Speaking on Raj Shamani's podcast, he insisted that the obsession he asks of his senior leaders is not cruelty but the only fuel that early building has ever run on, and he rejected the label of toxicity that such expectations often attract. Whether that conviction holds for the people who live inside it is a question the company's own future will answer.
Zomato founder Deepinder Goyal was asked on Raj Shamani's podcast whether a boss who expects obsession from senior people is simply being toxic. He said no, and that startups cannot be built any other way. He wants his senior leaders to feel personal ownership, to treat the company as their own baby. If they see it as a job, he said, he is out.
He separated hours from attitude. A startup can run on nine-to-five hours, he argued, but not on a nine-to-five mindset. To make the point, he described a major bug surfacing on a Friday evening: waiting until Monday is not an option, so he would stay and fix it rather than go home at 6 pm. When Shamani noted such demands are often called toxic, Goyal said the people who work with him do not describe him that way, and he brushed off Reddit criticism as old and outdated.
He also argued that mindset, not position, decides how far people go. The company pays well and offers generous equity, he said, and those who show this attitude grow faster while others stay put. He added that he does not judge anyone; each person must decide whether family, balance and peace of mind can coexist with obsession. Leave is freely available, he said, but urgency must be respected when customers are affected.
His closing view was that obsession and calm are not opposites. Some people balance everything and still deliver, able to push through a problem overnight when it matters. The remarks land just as Shark Tank India Season 5 premiered on January 5, 2026, and whether this stance shapes hiring or retention at Zomato is the thing to watch.
Deepinder Goyal, the founder of Zomato, was asked a pointed question on Raj Shamani's podcast: when a boss expects obsession from his senior people, isn't that just toxic? His answer, reported by the Times of India, was that it isn't, and that startups cannot be built any other way.
Goyal, who also appeared as a judge on Shark Tank India Season 3, began with what he wants from the leaders directly under him. They should feel personal ownership of the work. "You have to be obsessive about building something," he said, describing that as the obsession he looks for in his senior team. He was blunt about the alternative: if the senior team thinks of the company as a job, he said, "I'm out." In his telling, they have to treat it as their own baby.
He separated hours from attitude. Startups, he said, can be built on nine-to-five hours but not on a nine-to-five attitude, and he called those two different things. To illustrate, he offered a scenario: a major bug surfaces on a Friday evening. Waiting until Monday is not an option, he said. He would not go home at 6 pm; he would stay and fix it.
He returned to that example when Shamani noted that such expectations are often labelled toxic. Goyal pushed back, saying he does not think people who work with him describe him that way. He dismissed online criticism, particularly Reddit posts, as old and outdated. If a bug would delay customer orders by 15 minutes, he said, he would pull an all-nighter to solve it, and the whole company should do the same.
Goyal also addressed the argument that founders and employees stand in different positions and shouldn't be compared. His answer was about compensation: the company pays people well and gives them a lot of equity. Mindset, he said, shapes how far people go. Those who show this kind of attitude grow faster; those who don't stay where they are.
He framed the choice as personal. He said he does not judge people, and that it is up to each individual whether they can manage family, work-life balance and peace of mind while also being obsessive. He added that flexibility already exists in his teams, where people can take leave freely, but that urgency has to be respected when customers are affected.
His closing point was that obsession and calm are not opposites. Obsession can coexist with peace, he said, and there are people who balance everything and still drive the right outcomes, able to push through a problem overnight when needed.
The remarks arrive as Shark Tank India Season 5 has just premiered, on January 5, 2026. The new season adds four judges, Shaily Mehrotra, Kanika Tekriwal, Hardik Kothiya and Pratham Mittal, alongside returning sharks Aman Gupta, Namita Thapar, Peyush Bansal, Vineeta Singh, Ritesh Agarwal and Anupam Mittal. Goyal's comments are likely to keep the debate over work intensity in Indian startups going, and a thing to watch is whether this stance shapes hiring or retention at Zomato.
Citazioni salienti
If the senior team thinks of this as a job, I'm out. They have to think about this as their own baby.— Deepinder Goyal, Zomato founder
Obsession can happen with peace.— Deepinder Goyal, Zomato founder
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