The Financial Express
Jun 29, 2026, 02:40 PM
SaaS Investor Jason Lemkin: Only Invests in Startups with Small Teams Working from the Office Six Days a Week
The future of work has been one of the biggest debates in the tech industry since the pandemic, with many companies embracing flexible and remote work while others push employees back into the office. Now, one of the most influential voices in the SaaS ecosystem has made his position clear. Jason Lemkin, known as the “Godfather of SaaS ,” says he is only interested in investing in startups that have small teams working from the office six days a week. According to him, companies that rely on remote work or promise employees an easier schedule will struggle to compete in an AI -driven world. Lemkin said the startups he wants to invest in are those that prioritise in-person work and expect employees to put in long hours while speaking on a recent episode of the 20VC podcast. “I want small, high paid teams that work in the office over six days a week,” Lemkin said. “I’m not interested in investing in anything else. I’m just not interested. And it’s not because I don’t have empathy, it’s because they’re going to fail.” He said his view is based on what he has seen within his own team. While acknowledging that remote work can be successful for some people, he believes it comes with too many distractions. Lemkin added that the companies he follows closely are no longer hiring people looking for a relaxed work-life balance. “They’re not hiring folks that want to work 20 hours a week from home,” he said. Lemkin also said people hoping to build significant wealth through startup equity need to understand that success comes with trade-offs. In his view, employees cannot expect extraordinary financial rewards while working fewer hours. “You don’t get to make 10 million for working 18 hours a week. You get a watch. You get an Omega,” Lemkin said. “You want an Omega, or you want to be rich? Make your choice, boys.” According to Lemkin, tech workers today have to choose between a comfortable lifestyle with a steady salary or taking on the demanding pace of high-growth startups in the hope of creating wealth through equity. “Do you want to make money from your equity or do you want to make $180,000 a year?” he said. “This is going to be your choice in tech.” During the conversation, Lemkin also agreed with comments made by Flexport CEO Ryan Petersen, who had previously described remote work as “white-collar fraud” because of the distractions employees face while working from home. “I have a three-year-old and a five-year-old. The idea that I could do any work at my house is like a total fantasy,” Petersen said on an earlier episode of the podcast. “And, like, I have a bigger house than most employees do. Like, I actually do have a private office I can close the door on. It doesn’t matter — there’s no work getting done at that house when the kids are around.” Lemkin said that, if anything, Petersen’s comments were already “dated.” According to him, the most ambitious startups and the investors backing them have already accepted that remote work is not the model that will produce the fastest-growing companies. Lemkin believes established companies have a tougher challenge because they cannot easily change their work culture or replace employees who are unwilling to adapt to the industry’s changing expectations. “I thought Ryan’s running an old company, right? It’s old. Flexport is old,” Lemkin said. “And I think, he is struggling with trying to modernize his team and being competitive with the way startups are today. He’s struggling with the fact you can’t change out your entire team. What do you do with the folks that are unwilling to change at these big companies?” Flexport, a global freight forwarding and customs brokerage company, was founded by Ryan Petersen and his brother David Petersen in 2013. Lemkin’s comments come at a time when many technology companies are using AI to operate with leaner teams and faster decision-making. Across Silicon Valley, founders are increasingly talking about hiring fewer people while expecting each employee to contribute more. Lemkin believes this has created “nothing in the middle.” According to him, startups that want to become market leaders need highly committed employees willing to work intensely alongside small teams. In his view, companies that offer greater flexibility may find it harder to compete in the years ahead.
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