The CEO of a technology company has responded after her popular Twitter thread explaining her day-to-day responsibilities was met with ridicule and suggestions that her workload was light.
The thread was “designed for virality,” according to Yehong Zhu, the founder and CEO of Zette Media, which attempts to enable access to paywalled publications. Zhu is a former Forbes reporter and the founder and CEO of Zette Media.
Her initial post, dated 12 October, began, “As a founder supported by venture capital, I am frequently asked what I do on a daily basis. In case you were curious, here is a day in the life of a Silicon Valley startup founder.”
She went on to detail how she selected website design mockups, ordered new business cards, and is formulating a strategy to become a TikTok influencer.
—Yehong Zhu (@YehongZhu)
12 October 2022
According to Forbes, it drew more than 200 reactions and more than 350 quote-tweets, many of whom appeared displeased by what they saw to be a light job, given that she had received $1.7 million in venture capital funding for her startup.
Several quote-tweets stated that Zhu’s daily routine appeared to consist of “15 minutes of labor spread out over the course of a day,” while others urged her to “find a real job.” Others condemned her for putting “zero effort” into her profession and personal life, as well as for “producing nothing of value.”
On October 17, Zhu responded to the criticism and implied the thread was part of a marketing campaign.
—Yehong Zhu (@YehongZhu)
17 October 2022
She stated: “Recently, I’ve been pondering marketing extensively, and I’ve discovered I’ve been underutilizing Twitter. So I reasoned, why not compose a Twitter thread to promote expansion?”
Zhu stated that the post was written intentionally in a “lighthearted manner” and “played on founder stereotypes.” She added that the content was “designed for virality.”
She said, “I became a lightning rod for people who were upset with their employment, their bosses, and capitalism in general. Initially, my feelings were offended, and I considered deleting my tweets. Then I questioned whether there is such a thing as bad PR.”
Zhu stated that the thread “started people talking” and that Zette Media is now widely known. She stated that the company’s waitlist had risen by double digits without any marketing expenditures. (Insider could not confirm this claim.)
“How much would it have cost to obtain 1 million impressions on Twitter with sponsored advertising? The dispersion of hate was astounding and beyond my expectations “Zhu added.
Several comments underneath Zhu’s follow-up post lauded her use of “viral marketing,” while others expressed admiration for Zhu’s perseverance.
Quote-tweets of Zhu’s thread described it as “hilarious” and “an artistic masterpiece.”
Forbes reports that Zhu’s startup Zette was formed in July 2020 as a subscription service that would provide consumers access to publications that are generally behind a paywall.