Cluely CEO Declares Work-Life Balance a Myth, Says 'Work Is Our Life' at AI Startup
In a candid interview with Business Insider, Lee dismissed the idea of separating personal and professional life, especially within a startup setting. 'Work-life balance? That's not really a thing here,' he said with a grin on a recent podcast. 'We wake up, we're at work. We go to sleep on the sofa if that's where we crash. The work is our life.'
Known for launching Cluely — an app that initially marketed itself as a tool for engineers to "cheat" during job interviews — Lee is no stranger to controversy. The app, which leverages AI to discreetly guide candidates in real time by analyzing their screen activity, drew early backlash and even led to Lee's suspension from Columbia University during its prototype phase. While the company has since removed direct references to "cheating," its core functionality and mission remain unchanged.
Lee justifies the startup's all-consuming work culture as essential to its growth. 'When you're building something from scratch, it's not a 40-hour-a-week job,' he said. 'You have to be all in, or you'll be left behind.'
At Cluely, the philosophy is intense but clear-cut: you're either developing the product or making it go viral. 'There are only two kinds of people here,' Lee said on The Sourcery podcast. 'You're either creating the product, or you're making sure the world can't stop talking about it.'
That mindset is reflected in the company's unorthodox hiring approach. Cluely employs only engineers and influencers — no traditional departments, no middle management, and no corporate layers. If someone doesn't align with either of the two roles, 'you don't belong at Cluely,' Lee declared.
The Cluely team, based in San Francisco, reportedly works and lives under one roof, fully immersed in the company's mission. 'Everyone here understands the madness required to make it,' Lee said.
His views echo those of other Silicon Valley veterans. Reid Hoffman, cofounder of LinkedIn, has made similar remarks in the past, suggesting that expecting work-life balance while building a startup signals a fundamental misunderstanding of entrepreneurial life.
Lee's focus now is on cultural relevance and virality, not traditional marketing. 'Our goal is to be everywhere, the biggest thing on TikTok, Instagram, you name it,' he shared. For Cluely, the secret isn't advertising — it's authenticity. 'The people creating these viral moments aren't sat in an office somewhere planning ads — they're living it.'
Lee aims for Cluely to reach a billion views across platforms — and if that means blurring the line between work and life, he's all in.
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