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‘You never get that time back’: CEO regrets choosing ‘startup grind’ over his daughter’s birth
Ron Schneidermann said he believes startup culture often glorifies burnout, treating exhaustion and personal sacrifice as proof of commitment.
When his first daughter was born, he took only two days off before returning to work (Photo: LinkedIn)
Ron Schneidermann, former CEO of Liftopia, has reflected on the high personal costs of his early career, saying the sacrifices he once accepted went too far. In the startup’s early days, he lived frugally and took minimal time off, including just two days after his daughter was born.
Speaking to Fortune, Schneidermann, who now leads ed tech company Acely AI, opened up about the hidden personal toll of the “always-on” startup mindset. While his career eventually led to major business success, he admitted that the sacrifices he once accepted as necessary were far greater than they needed to be.
Schneidermann, 48, recalled that during the early days of founding Liftopia, a digital marketplace for ski resorts, work took over nearly every part of his life. Living in a cramped San Francisco apartment, he cut expenses wherever possible, lived on canned soup, and went nearly two years without drawing a salary.
When his first daughter was born, he took only two days off before returning to work. Three years later, when his son arrived, he extended that break to one week.
“I look back, and I was just able to justify it as ‘that’s just part of the grind’… but you never get that time back,” Schneidermann told Fortune. “That was a mistake.”
Startup culture and burnout
He said he believes startup culture often glorifies burnout, treating exhaustion and personal sacrifice as proof of commitment. Over time, however, his outlook has changed dramatically.
After helping scale Liftopia into a business generating more than $60 million in yearly revenue, he joined AllTrails in 2015 and became its CEO in 2019. There, he focused on creating a healthier company culture than the one he had experienced in his earlier years.
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One of those changes was a monthly company-wide day off, when operations would pause on the first Friday of every month to encourage employees to spend time outside.
“For everything that was frustrating, that went wrong, that I regretted about Liftopia, I was able to take the inverse and turn it into a strength,” he said.
DISCLAIMER: This narrative is for informational purposes and reflects the author’s personal journey; if you are experiencing professional burnout or chronic stress, consider seeking guidance from a mental health professional or career counsellor to find a sustainable balance.
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