Ask HN: Is it normal for founders of startups to not sleep?

Just because you are now working on an idea that bunch of people with the sole intention of maximizing their returns on their investment shouldn't change the way you function as a normal human being although I'm more worried about this excerpt:

> "The lead founder of the company sends emails at all hours of the night, even 3 or 4AM and talks about how little sleep he is getting like it is a badge of honor."

and seeing how it connected to your original posting:

    "Hi HN, I left a job at a respectable corporation to 
    join a YC startup "

I don't get it. YC doesn't guarantee success. From what I read, YC gets the pick of the litter, the rejects either raise money from others or bootstrap or just go back to the workforce. The same thing happens even if you are in YC...

You made a decision to leave a stable job to join a YC startup. You realize the founder is not letting you sleep or has some weird ego about being poorly productive (no sleep means you aren't performing 100%), and now you are questioning if you made the right choice, and it seems like you have every right to question your decision based on the environment you are currently in.

A normal and healthy working environment (YC or being a startup is no excuse) doesn't have people sending emails at 4AM and expecting people to read their bragging rights on how shitty their work output will be throughout tomorrow because they didn't sleep. IF I WAS AN INVESTOR AND THIS IS HOW PEOPLE WERE BURNING MY MONEY I WOULD BE FUCKING LIVID AND IMMEDIATELY FIRE WHOEVER IS RUNNING YOUR COMPANY.

There can be considerable productivity gained, for very short windows of time. It's all "tortoise and the hare". If you have something due at 7AM, sprint. If it's due in three months, pace yourself and optimize average productivity, which usually means balancing working hours against sleep, exercise, relaxation, socialization, and food.

I'd cut and run while you can. Sure, some people love this shit, but leave that to them, there's likely other opportunities out there for you.

Something I haven't seen anyone ask yet... are you expected to answer? It's one thing for some bits to flip in a mail server at 3am... it's quite another if your phone is buzzing and your job is (cumulatively) on the line if you're not responding.

There's a non-zero chance that the person sending these emails will read this message. There's a very high chance that someone matching the description will read this message, since there's definitely not enough info in the Ask HN here to uniquely identify anyone :)

So, as not a startup founder and likely never will be one, I implore you founders to remember that we are not founders, and you can't expect the rest of us to act like founders without the possible upside. Further, I'd suggest that you should want your first few employees to sleep well, so that they can provide a well-rested analysis of whatever crazy thoughts you had at 3am when you've had 10 hours of sleep in the last four days. That's actually a good thing, something you should seek out, cherish, and listen to.

Is he expecting you to answer at 3am?

If he expects you to answer at 3am, it's time to find a new job.

If he's willing to wait to get an answer, then don't worry about it.

I turn of the sound and vibrate on my phone, so I don't get interrupted while I'm sleeping.

He's probably just trying to show off about how dedicated he is. Don't get tricked into overworking yourself to match him.