The founder of Zette Media, Yehong Zhu, found herself in the spotlight after unveiling the ins and outs of her daily routine, igniting a debate over the intensity of her workload.

In a now-controversial X thread, formerly Twitter, Zhu painted a picture of her typical day as a startup CEO. However, her revelations seemed to prompt mixed reactions among netizens.

She kicked off her ‘day in the life’ rundown by sharing tasks like approving engineering for their beta and examining Figma mocks for their investor deck. Yet, her day took a turn when the eagerly anticipated company swag was missing, replaced by off-color business cards due to printer mishaps.

Amidst tackling TikTok strategy discussions and editing conference materials, Zhu found herself deflecting investor emails and juggling relationship-building with journalists. Her day ended with a casual check on her schedule, a quick text to her mum, and a social media post at 6:37 pm.

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A post shared by Yehong Zhu (@yehongzhu)

However, reactions were polarized. While some lauded her transparency and entrepreneurial insight, others were critical. Critics argued that her reported tasks seemed trivial for a CEO, drawing attention to moments like ‘texting your mom’ amidst purported work.

Nevertheless, Zhu defended her approach, highlighting that as a CEO, her primary goal was steering her startup to success. She emphasized the need to generate attention for the brand until the team expanded, indicating that the X thread garnered more attention and sign-ups than a month’s worth of paid advertising.

As the debate rages on about the CEO’s alleged workload, opinions remain divided. While some appreciate her candor, others question the essence of her daily tasks in driving a startup forward. The controversy swirls, leaving the public to ponder the blurred lines between CEO duties and casual engagements in today’s entrepreneurial landscape.