A Y-Combinator startup offered job interviews in exchange for getting a tattoo—because they want employees ‘just as crazy as we are’

Y Combinator startup LemonLime offered job interviews to candidates who got a tattoo at a party, with co-founder Jordan Zietz saying the company wants employees 'just as crazy as we are.' Seven people received tattoos, but the stunt sparked backlash on social media for exploitation and discrimination, leading Zietz to apologize and offer to pay for tattoo removal.

The job market may feel more crowded than ever, but how far would candidates go to set themselves apart? One startup put that to the test, challenging hopeful candidates to get a permanent tattoo in exchange for a guaranteed interview. Y Combinator startup LemonLime hosted an afterparty for YC Startup School. According to a since-deleted viral post from co-founder Jordan Zietz, the AI https://www.fastcompany.com/section/artificial-intelligence company “brought an actual tattoo artist to our party and offered an instant interview to anyone who got a LemonLime tattoo.” Zietz wrote that seven people got tattoos at the party. The stunt was designed to find applicants who are “just as crazy as we are,” he explained. “We are bold, we take risks, and we do things that haven’t been done before. Being committed to our mission is paramount. Pre-requisites for building the future. If you’re reaching out to us to apply for a job, you might want to take notes. I love LemonLime.” Though Zietz’s post may sound far-fetched, other posters confirmed the scenario was all too real. On LinkedIn https://lnkd.in/p/eSTY7PHj , one party attendee named Lucas Chu shared pictures of posters at the event reading, “Instant interview for anyone who gets a tattoo,” and, “Top 3 most liked LinkedIn posts about LemonLime by 10pm come skydiving with the team.” In Chu’s comments, Zietz wrote, “So when are we skydiving?” Another attendee said she’s the one getting tattooed in Zietz’s picture, though she clarified on social media https://x.com/dimpleamithag/status/2082780926430605803?s=20 that though her tattoo was a personal design, not the company’s logo. But “almost everyone else got a LemonLime logo tattoo,” she added. “It’s wild.” LemonLime’s hiring https://www.fastcompany.com/section/hiring stunt got the company plenty of attention, but the reception wasn’t as positive as Zietz may have hoped. His post, along with screenshots of it, quickly went viral on social media, where commenters were quick to call out his company for shady hiring practices. “The job market cannot be this cooked that kids have to get permanent tattoos to get interviews,” one poster wrote, sharing a screenshot of Zietz’s LinkedIn post https://x.com/SammyTourani/status/2082333589023453444 . “I don’t find this funny. I find it really really sad and I’ll not shy away from saying that this is exploitation ” one commenter wrote https://x.com/Rafay Mustafa1/status/2082539194996629845?s=20 . “You’re exploiting the genuine desperation for fun and some likes.” Another poster agreed the scenario was exploitative, “as well as discrimination against candidates who can’t get a tattoo based on religious or morally held beliefs,” they wrote. https://x.com/educator4ever36/status/2082574534272544903?s=20 “One of the non-interviewees should get a lawyer.” “Imagine you get the tattoo, get rejected, and now have a permanent reminder of the rejection,” commented a third user https://x.com/Capncrozieayye/status/2082519739964744170?s=20 . After the backlash, Zietz returned to social media with an apology. “I messed up,” his post began https://x.com/treejordan/status/2082679881041842459?s=46&t=8OtH9OGjYicTbjoWWNA-zQ . “At our YC afterparty, we offered free tattoos and said we’d be happy to interview anyone who got one. What I thought would be a fun, memorable way to meet people was, in reality, reckless, and instead came across as tying a permanent tattoo to job opportunity, which showed poor judgement.” “Even though participants chose their own tattoos and no one was asked to get our logo, I should have understood the pressure and power dynamic created by connecting tattoos to hiring,” Zietz continued. “Regardless of said intent, turning a celebration of personalized art into a company stunt was poorly exercised judgement.” Zietz added that LemonLime had taken down its posts about the event, spoken to everyone who’d gotten a tattoo, and prepared to pay for tattoo removal for “anyone facing any delayed regret. He also wrote that “interviews were available to everyone regardless,” whether tattooed or otherwise. “I’m sorry to the people we put in that position, and to everyone who expected better from me,” he concluded. “There’s no clever explanation here. I got carried away, and I was wrong.”