Gen Z founders chasing their big break are facing a modern-day catch-22: protect their mental health or sacrifice work-life balance in pursuit of success.
Shark Tank investor and millionaire Kevin O’Leary has clear advice for Gen Z founders weighing how to spend their time.
“The worst advice I hear young founders talk about all the time is that they want to work 18 hours a day. How stupid is that?” O’Leary said in a video on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DUGW8dplTCw/?igsh=amRwbTVjb3k1dzhn">Instagram</a>, sporting a red, cheetah-print top and floral pants.
The admonishment comes as everyday workers are increasingly expected to work longer hours. The 996—a 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six-day-a-week work schedule that was outlawed in China in 2021—has been newly glorified in Silicon Valley. AI startup Rilla told candidates last year not to bother applying unless they’re excited to work more than 70 hours a week.
But contrary to popular belief, working hard does not mean neglecting to take care of yourself, O’Leary said.
“This idea that you don’t get any sleep, as if it’s good for investors, is sheer stupidity,” he said. Eating well, getting sleep, and exercising are “how you optimize,” he added.
O’Leary is clear-eyed on where he thinks young founders should be focusing their attention: AI. In March, he said if he were a 20-something today, he’d be going all-in on either helping small businesses implement tools or developing data centers.
“There’s going to be a massive amount of people wanting to use it that don’t know how to and they’re willing to pay to solve that pain point,” O’Leary said.
O’Leary’s advice is a notable shift for the serial investor, who in the past encouraged founders to work as much as possible to get ahead.
“You either make money or you lose it,” he wrote in an X post in 2024. “If you want to succeed in business you have to work 25 hours a day because there’s someone across the world who will kick your a– if you don’t.”
O’Leary previously told Fortune he looks for a “founder’s mindset” that focuses on what has to get done in the next 18 hours, while drowning out the “noise” of everyday life. He added that he looks for a one-to-two talking-to-listening ratio and a leader’s executional prowess when investing.
More business leaders are changing their tune and encouraging more balance. Even CEOs, who can rarely fully unplug, are finding time to rest. Insomnia Cookies founder and CEO Seth Berkowitz told Fortune he takes two-hour phone breaks every day. Sami Inkinen, cofounder and CEO of Virta Health, takes a week off to travel to remote locations like the Himalayas, where he can’t be reached.
While CEOs and employees feel pressure to always be “on” and available for work, “toxic productivity” can cause chronic stress, insomnia, anxiety, depression, and risk physical health, according to Harvard Medical School.
“If you show up looking half-dead, I’m not investing. You’re not a hero, you’re a liability,” O’Leary wrote in the video caption.
A version of this story was published on Fortune.com on February 2, 2026.
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