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

I just lately got here throughout a job advert from a boutique U.S. company that learn:

“If you happen to want a clock-in, clock-out mentality, we’re not a very good 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 the whole lot else.

We prefer 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 might help 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 id

And why is that an issue?

Startup tradition glorifies the concept that extra hours equals extra achievement. And certain, early wins really feel good — that dopamine hit retains us grinding. Till sooner or later, the hustle is your id.

Within the early days of my firm, I lived by this mantra: “If you happen to’re heading residence and your competitor’s lights are nonetheless on — flip round.” It labored. We scaled from three scrappy founders to a worldwide workforce of 500. However finally, I spotted: if I did not put my workforce’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 current survey of 138 startup founders, over half reported experiencing burnout previously yr. 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 don’t 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 hardly ever makes headlines, but it surely robs us of focus, clear choices, and, finally, 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, the whole lot works higher: decision-making, workforce morale, product velocity. And it isn’t only a feel-good principle. A 2024 Gallup study of 183,000 companies throughout 90 international locations 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 selections. And people selections begin on the prime.

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 seemed:

• I set laborious boundaries on work hours. I used to put on 14–16 hour days like a badge of honor. However after 8 p.m., I would spend twice as lengthy on primary duties. Now, I goal to wrap by 6:30 p.m., which forces higher focus— and leaves vitality for all times exterior work.
• I prioritized consistency over hacks. No detoxes or chilly plunges. Only a regular rhythm of quick 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 countless caffeine. Even a five-minute break helps reset my vitality and cognition. Making an attempt new sports activities additionally improved my psychological flexibility in shocking methods.
• I let my thoughts wander on objective. A few of my greatest concepts present up after I’m doing nothing—strolling, meditating, or scribbling ideas in a pocket book.
• I protected my consideration prefer it was my most respected useful resource. Two hours of deep focus on daily basis—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. If 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 generally. If you’re constructing one thing you care about, it is laborious to let go. However if you would like what you are constructing to final, you must defend the particular person constructing it — you. Wellness is not a retreat. It isn’t a reward. It is your basis.

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