Jakarta – In an era where generational values around work-life balance are being redefined, Lucy Guo, the co-founder of Scale AI and one of the youngest self-made billionaires in the U.S., is making waves with her unorthodox stance: work-life balance, she claims, is irrelevant when you truly love your work.
Now leading Passes, a startup for digital creators, Guo built her fortune through relentless dedication — famously working 90 hours a week, rising at 5:30 a.m. and staying up past midnight. “If you feel the need to balance work and life, you might not be doing the right job,” she told Fortune. Her comment reignites a long-standing debate on whether obsession is a prerequisite for success in tech.
Born to Chinese immigrant parents, Guo’s story resonates across Asia, especially as China’s “996 culture” — working 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week — gains traction globally. From Beijing to Silicon Valley, startup founders are embracing this intense tempo, raising questions about sustainability and values in the innovation economy.
Even outside Asia, Guo isn’t alone. Tech leaders like Sergey Brin, who reportedly considers 60 hours a week “optimal” for AI engineers, and Harry Stebbings of 20VC urging European founders to “accelerate intensity,” reflect a new frontier of leadership grounded in relentless output.
Guo’s strict discipline includes customer obsession: she enforces a five-minute response rule for her team to address support tickets, believing that exceptional service is the ultimate differentiator between startups and giants.
However, Guo also advocates for deliberate moments of connection. Despite her grueling routine, she schedules daily time for family and friends. “No matter how busy you are, make space for people who matter,” she says.
The larger question now facing the global business community — especially in Asia — is whether this hyper-productivity model is a roadmap or a warning. As the lines between ambition and exhaustion blur, Lucy Guo has become both a beacon and a mirror for the evolving values of leadership in the age of AI.
