Finding Ambition

I've never worked a full-time corporate job. So far, it's been internships, freelancing, and a nine-month journey at a very early-stage startup. Recently though, I've noticed something about the job market—it's feeling less like building cool stuff and more like an exhausting race.

You’ve probably seen those headlines too: Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy said engineers should work 70-hour weeks if India wants to compete globally, even though I'm skeptical if they meant "India" or "my pocket." Bhavish Aggarwal, Ola's CEO, agreed quickly and questioned the very idea of work-life balance. Even Google's Sergey Brin, which was the biggest surprise for me, recently talked about engineers needing 60-hour weeks just to keep up in the AI race against OpenAI.

At first, my reaction was probably just like yours: "Are these guys serious?" I mean, who wants to spend weekends at the office without a strong reason? But I thought about it a bit more, and realized that these CEOs aren't just randomly throwing numbers around. They're deeply invested in their vision—changing the world, making billions, or just building something legendary. But here's the catch—they can't do it alone. They need ambitious/cracked engineers who share their drive.

And that’s the hard part.

Finding someone who’s truly ambitious about your vision is incredibly difficult. It’s like finding a needle in a haystack. Everyone has their own motivations: money, recognition, pride, or relationships. But a CEO’s or founder’s vision that drives them, as exciting as it might be, is still their vision. It wasn’t originally yours. So, when someone tells you to put endless hours into something you didn’t dream up yourself, naturally, you’ll ask, “What’s in it for me?”

Here's what I've noticed firsthand: ambition can't just be bought with a big salary. If you really want someone to feel passionate, you need a relationship that's deeper than just a paycheck. It has to be more personal, almost nuclear—the kind of bond founders have with their first few employees or their co-founders. Sure, equity helps (it almost always does), but the real magic happens when you genuinely connect on a personal level. When employees feel they're not just working for you but building something meaningful with you, ambition naturally follows.

Something interesting I've been thinking about is smaller, more frequent rewards—like tiny salary bumps every month or two—instead of one big raise at year-end. Now, I don’t have data to back this up yet—it's just a thought. But to me, it feels logical. Regular appreciation might keep morale consistently high, motivating people continuously instead of just once in a while.

Another thing that got me thinking was watching podcasts and talks by CEOs like  Piyush Bansal (Lenskart), and Arvind Srinivasan (Perplexity). Just seeing them talk even when they're supposed to be discussing something else, the conversation always drifts toward their product and their vision. The incredible depth of knowledge and obsession with every tiny detail of their products blew my mind, I was watching a YC video with Aravind as speaker and the title was 'How to build the future' but it felt more like 'Perplexity 101' which changed my perspective over how a founder thinks. Honestly, no employee could ever match that in my opinion. I even wonder if their own co-founders feel the same level of passion and dedication as they do.

It’s funny how even giants like Google, despite their amazing perks and shiny offices, struggle to retain people. Maybe their expectations are just too demanding, or maybe their "culture" has some hidden loopholes. Clearly, perks and money alone aren’t enough.

I’m just an undergrad figuring this all out myself. Maybe I'm naive. But here's what I truly believe: if companies really want their engineers to work as passionately as co-founders, they must clearly answer that one simple question employees have, “What’s in it for me?”

Without a solid answer, no amount of pressure or vision will ignite genuine ambition. Ambition isn't about hours clocked—it's about feeling personally invested.