Twitch co-founder Justin Kan reflects on how startup social dynamics and long work hours normalized routine binge drinking during his early tech career.
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“When I was in Startups, you know, it's kind of like, oh, well, we're working hard. We're playing hard, right? Like, so we're like working all these hours and we're like our whole life is lives are revolving around these companies. And so all our friends are here, but then we're like having drinks after work. And then like, it's like, yeah, once in a while I'm like getting completely obliterated, but I'm often, I'm just drinking a lot. And that's, that was just kind of like the culture of work, I would say in a way, like at least that I had experienced.”
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More from Justin Kan
Disclosure
Kan refuses to build startups through constant stress and fear
“Maybe I don't think it's the case, but it could be the case of like being super wound up about like your company is what's going to work best, but I'm not going to live that way. So we're going to run the experiment and see if this works.”
Justin KanFeb 15, 2022▶ 21:18Bonus: "How Twitch Co-founder Justin Kan Got Sober" from Imposters
AssertionSupported
Kan on shutting down Atrium: laying off 180, losing tens of millions
“By doing that, I was able to pay off a 180 people and tell a bunch of people I'd lost millions of dollars, tens of millions of dollars, and be okay, and know like, oh, this is gonna pass, and I'm okay with it, and I mean, it sucks right now, it's, this experie…”
Justin KanFeb 15, 2022▶ 25:56Bonus: "How Twitch Co-founder Justin Kan Got Sober" from Imposters
Insight
Kan: Committing to permanent sobriety is easier than temporary breaks
“But the part of it, I think more of it was just like knowing that there was no, like, Something to wait for at the end of the tunnel. Like it was just like, oh, this is the way it is the new normal for the rest of my life. That was my commitment made it way ea…”
Justin KanFeb 15, 2022▶ 13:14Bonus: "How Twitch Co-founder Justin Kan Got Sober" from Imposters
Disclosure
Kan: Startup failures and setbacks turned drinking into an escape mechanism
“Started my first startup and I continued like drinking and it became, you know, it was also like a crutch. Like it wasn't just Okay. I'm going to like go party. It was like, I feel upset about something, right? Like there's something that's not going my way in…”
Justin KanFeb 15, 2022▶ 5:09Bonus: "How Twitch Co-founder Justin Kan Got Sober" from Imposters
Disclosure
Kan: Startup investing is now driven by joy, not scarcity
“For me, kind of incubating companies, investing in companies, that's like a vehicle to do that, and if I just focus on the reason, you know, coming from a place of joy instead of coming from a place of scarcity, life's a lot better.”
Justin KanFeb 15, 2022▶ 17:30Bonus: "How Twitch Co-founder Justin Kan Got Sober" from Imposters
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