A Startup Offered Job Interviews to Anyone Willing to Get Its Logo Tattooed. 7 People Took the Deal
Jordan Zietz said LemonLime would cover tattoo removal costs after the stunt drew backlash and he posted multiple apologies.
- On Saturday, July 25, San Francisco-based AI startup LemonLime hosted a party where founder Jordan Zietz offered job interviews to attendees who received company-themed tattoos, with seven people leaving with permanent ink.
- Zietz, a 2024 Stanford University graduate, billed the event as a way to find "crazy" talent for his five-employee firm, but the stunt triggered comparisons to "dystopian" branding of applicants online.
- Startup founder Dimple Amitha Garuadapuri, featured in the original post, stated the artist claimed attendees "had to get one of the approved designs," contradicting Zietz's defense that participants chose freely.
- Following the backlash, Zietz issued apologies on Wednesday and Thursday, admitting the stunt was "reckless" and offering to cover tattoo removal costs for anyone facing "delayed regret."
- While Anduril CEO Palmer Luckey defended the move, the incident highlighted intense startup pressure to stand out; Zietz's Y Combinator Summer 2026 cohort company has provided no further comment.
12 Articles
12 Articles
Tech startup boss faces humiliating new low after apologizing for cringe stunt
Some companies want a cover letter. This one wants body art. The boss of an AI startup is eating crow after a jaw-dropping hiring gimmick blew up in his face—offering job seekers an instant interview if they permanently branded themselves with the company’s logo. Jordan Zietz, co-founder of the Y Combinator-backed LemonLime, is now scrambling...
An AI startup's tattoo-for-an-interview stunt set off a Silicon Valley backlash. Now the founder is apologizing.
The startup LemonLime offered anyone who received a tattoo an "instant interview."asier lopez/Getty ImagesA Y Combinator-backed startup is catching heat for a stunt involving company-logo tattoos.LemonLime offered those who got a logo tattoo at its Startup School after-party an "instant interview."Cofounder Jordan Zietz has since apologized. He said it was a case of "poorly exercised judgment."Tattoos, company logos, and deleted apologies — oh m…
A Y-Combinator startup offered job interviews in exchange for getting a tattoo—because they want employees ‘just as crazy as we are’
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 company “brought an actual tattoo artist to our party and off…
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