Angelina YangFounder and Host, TwoSetAI · AI builder for visibility and discoverability

3 AM Deals will Destroy Your Startup

9 Jun 2026 · 0 min

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0:22

In this candid monologue, the speaker recounts the grueling reality of building a startup, describing a relentless schedule of working from 8 AM to 3 AM for four consecutive months. During this period, the team faced repeated hiring setbacks, with weekly offers falling through, leading to mounting frustration. Exhaustion reached a delirious level—evidenced by ordering DoorDash late at night—when a half‑asleep brainstorming session produced a whimsical idea to merge TikTok and DoorDash, only to be quickly dismissed. The narrative highlights the physical and mental toll of early‑stage startup life and the often absurd, sleep‑deprived creativity it can spark.

I know it must be very hard to get to this point. I think we must have done like 8 AM to 3 AM for like maybe 4 months straight. So close to making like hires on a weekly basis and the like offer fell through. And I just remember going, "Ah man, this is so hard." And then we were hungry, so we were on DoorDash. We were delirious. And I remember we were like, "What if we combine TikTok and DoorDash?" And then like 10 minutes later we're like, "What are we talking about?"