YC founder asks desperate job seekers to tattoo themselves for an interview

Today successful caller sentences: A San Francisco AI startup CEO is apologizing for asking group to permanently tattoo themselves successful speech for a occupation interview.

One of San Francisco’s galore difficult-to-explain AI startups, LemonLime, precocious offered hopeful (desperate?) applicants an instant occupation interview, but only if they sewage its logo aliases a related creation permanently tattooed connected their bodies. 

Seven group took the institution up connected the offer, according to CEO Jordan Zietz. The logo resembles a wedge of lemon, aliases possibly Pac-Man mid-bite — a imperishable reminder of a institution that, according to its website, “learns your business and past automates your team’s busywork successful a azygous click.”

This caller citrus spirit of firm branding was instantly beset by detractors who are intelligibly not successful founder mode. 

“Since your advisers and investors look to beryllium dormant astatine the wheel, present is immoderate Silicon Valley startup advice: Predicating occupation interviews connected getting a tattoo is abhorrent and invites litigation,” 1 typical commented successful consequence to the LinkedIn post. 

Zietz agreed to a telephone question and reply Wednesday greeting to explicate his reasoning but backed retired minutes before, texting, “slammed w things rn, sorry :(” 

A fewer hours prior, he posted a nationalist apology, saying he had “messed up” and that participants chose their ain tattoos. He claimed he would salary for tattoo removal services. 

“Regardless of said intent, turning a ceremony of personalized creation into a institution stunt was poorly exercised judgement,” Zietz wrote connected X (opens successful caller tab), claiming that everyone sewage an question and reply sloppy of whether they were inked. 

Over text, Zietz said nary of the attendees received a logo arsenic a tattoo, contempt what he’d said successful the LinkedIn post.

One attendee contradicted his claim. “Yes, almost everyone other sewage a LemonLime logo tattoo,” Dimple Amitha Garuadapuri (opens successful caller tab)posted connected X (opens successful caller tab). She said she sewage a tattoo astatine the arena that was not the LemonLime logo but didn’t respond erstwhile asked what it depicted.

“100% incorrect,” Zietz told The Standard astir Garuadapuri’s logo claim.

Another attendee said he saw astatine slightest 1 subordinate tattooed pinch a lemon. 

LemonLime is simply a postgraduate of Y Combinator, an accelerator known for anointing dozens of mini companies a twelvemonth pinch $500,000 checks, networking opportunities, and Garry Tan’s individual telephone number. 

Some graduates person gone connected to go blockbuster companies for illustration Reddit and Airbnb, but the remaining chaff often edifice to hopeless trading ploys to group themselves apart. Remember those “Stop hiring humans” advertisements blanketing San Francisco? That was a YC company. 

LemonLime bills itself arsenic a no-code AI startup, not to beryllium confused pinch the hundreds of startups building thing similar. Aside from the $500,000 from Y Combinator, it doesn’t look to person further funding. 

Still, possibly imperishable branding is the summons to the YC mafia. The laminitis of Corgi, a YC security tech institution pinch a $4 cardinal reported valuation, known for moving a Corgi cafe without immoderate dogs, recently said (opens successful caller tab) that two-thirds of his early unit members person a institution tattoo.