SF startup founder apologizes after controversial hiring stunt goes viral

It’s a particularly dismal time for a job hunt, especially in the layoff-ridden tech industry, and one San Francisco startup is getting flak online for a controversial hiring stunt meant to find committed talent.

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LemonLime, a Y Combinator-backed artificial intelligence startup for small businesses, offered company tattoos in exchange for an “instant interview” at a YC Startup School afterparty on Saturday, according to a now-deleted LinkedIn post from its co-founder Jordan Zietz. The post showed a woman sitting in front of a tattoo artist, appearing to prep for getting inked on her right forearm.

Zeitz wrote that he hosted the party to meet “exceptional people” and find out if they were “just as crazy as we are.” The post says seven people left with permanent tattoos, but doesn’t mention if any were actually hired. 

ICYMI –– The YC startup founder that bragged about trading tattoos for interviews took down the posts. Now he claims interviews were available to anyone. (They also offered ‘skydiving with the team’ for posting about them.) pic.twitter.com/WEKytGk92i

— Matt Brown (@maattttbrown) July 30, 2026

“We are bold, we take risks, and we do things that haven’t been done before,” Zietz’s post said. “Being committed to our mission is paramount.”

An RSVP page for the event says 173 people attended the party at the company’s South of Market office. Zeitz declined to comment to SFGATE on Thursday morning. Y Combinator did not respond to a request for comment.

The post garnered plenty of attention on LinkedIn, with some people quick to criticize LemonLime’s antics.

“Give people dignity and let them interview on the spot,” the most-like comment on the post read. “We are not your dance monkey who have to prove anything to you to be worth your time.”

Others cited it as an example of how bad California’s job market is, and called the company’s move an exploitation of people’s desperation to get their foot in the door. 

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“Influencing someone who is trying to find work to get your company’s logo tattooed is so evil spirited,” another comment said. “This isn’t edgy or innovative, it’s a disturbing abuse of power.”

Another now-deleted LinkedIn post from a party attendee depicted LemonLime flyers advertising the tattoo deal, and an offer to go skydiving with the company’s team if they posted about LemonLime on LinkedIn. Some commenters chalked the event up to a risky attempt at virality.

“If this is ragebait, it shows terrible taste,” another comment said. “… This is not ‘risk-taking’ or ‘innovation’ or ‘commitment’, this is taking advantage of people.”

Zeitz deleted the original post Wednesday after approximately a day of it being up, and in a new post conceded that the stunt was a mistake on his part. He claimed the company contacted people that got tattooed and offered to pay for removals. He also claimed that company logos were not required, and people were allowed to choose their own design. 

In a reversal from his original post — which told prospective hires to “take note” of the people getting inked — Zeitz wrote that interviews were actually available to any attendee.

“I’m sorry to the people we put in that position, and to everyone who expected better from me,” Zietz’s new post said. “There’s no clever explanation here. I got carried away, and I was wrong.”

Got tattooed or attended the LemonLime afterparty and want to talk? Contact tech reporter Matthew Brown securely at [email protected] or on Signal at matthewbrownsfgate.11