A startup founder sent a middle-finger emoji to a candidate who declined an internship interview. After the candidate shared the experience on Reddit, it went viral, sparking debate over hiring practices and professionalism at startups.
The strange reaction of a startup founder has become a topic of discussion on the internet. He gave such a response to a candidate who refused for an internship interview that now serious questions are being raised on the hiring practices and professionalism in startups. The whole matter came to light when a candidate shared his “weirdest internship experience” on Reddit. Within no time this post went viral and a new debate started on workplace culture.
See viral post here
According to the candidate, he had applied for an internship on LinkedIn. The very next day the founder contacted her, expressed interest in her profile and asked to continue the conversation on WhatsApp. However, the candidate claims that the hiring process felt very informal. Neither any official email came, nor any calendar invite nor was there any fixed schedule for the interview. She also said she was suspicious when she researched the company because there was very little information online and it seemed like multiple businesses were being run out of the same office.
Explaining the reason for not going to the interview, the candidate wrote, “Maybe my gut feeling was wrong, but something seemed wrong. So I decided not to go to the interview. The thing is that I never agreed to the interview. I just said that I will let you know.”
The candidate said he later informed the founder on WhatsApp that he would not be able to come and apologized for any inconvenience. Initially, the founder reacted with a thumbs-up emoji (👍). But, when the candidate viewed the chat a day later, he found that the reaction had reportedly been changed to a middle-finger emoji (🖕).
Sharing their response, a Reddit user wrote, “Sorry, but if you’re a founder representing your company and react like this when a candidate turns you down, then you’ve proven every suspicion of that candidate right. Honestly, this emoji told me more about the company culture than even an interview could ever tell.”
Thousands of people reacted to this post. One user commented, “I love companies where I don’t have to think twice about workplace culture. They go straight to my blacklist.”
Another wrote, “No one in this country has the courage to complain about organizations. Why be afraid to name the organization…”
A third user wrote, “I can only imagine how he treats the slaves working in his startup if he is mature enough to make such gestures on WhatsApp.”
The post did not name the company or founder, and the claims have not been independently verified. Nevertheless, the incident has reignited the conversation around professionalism, transparency, and treatment of candidates in the startup ecosystem. Many people argue that conversations during hiring often reveal more about a company’s work culture than a formal interview.