Eat The Rich

Let’s talk about the “eat the rich” mindset.

It’s loud. It’s emotional. It’s got catchy slogans and semi-ironic merch. But when you actually unpack it — especially from the perspective of someone who’s building something — it falls apart faster than a startup with seven co-founders and no product.

Let’s be real:

The pitchforks are aimed at the wrong people.

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“But the workers do all the hard work!”

Some do. And they deserve real recognition and respect.

But here’s what the mob never wants to hear:

So did the founder.
So did the early team.
So did the people who fought tooth and nail to build the thing that now pays salaries, offers benefits, and runs on Slack and Notion and Monday morning coffee-fueled chaos.

Newsflash: companies don’t spawn out of nowhere with logos, laptops, and dental plans.
Someone had to start with zero.
No product. No brand. No sleep.
Just a hunch, some stubborn optimism — and the guts to build something that could feed dozens, hundreds, maybe thousands.

I did every single job in this company before anyone else showed up.

Design? Me.
Dev? Me.
Client pitches? Me.
Finance, contracts, proposals, chasing unpaid invoices? Also me.
Getting wrecked by SARS? Oh yeah. Big fat ME.

And when things scaled? I didn’t “relax.” I stepped further into the fire — negotiating contracts, handling operations, securing long-term deals, making sure we didn’t bleed to death during down months.

That’s what real growth looks like.
That’s how impact is created.
And yes — that’s why leadership exists.

Not because someone played corporate musical chairs and landed a cushy title — but because they kept showing up when it got hard and refused to let the engine die.

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More Responsibility, Then the Reward

Here’s the part most people miss:

The higher you go, the less you get to hide.
The decisions get messier.
The stakes get higher.
And when things go sideways? Guess who’s on the hook. (Spoiler: it’s not the intern.)

People love to gripe about “the suits,” until they become the suit — and realise it’s not just about better coffee and calendar control.

Being in a C-level role means pressure.
It means risk.
It means being the last to get paid and the first to take the fall.

You don’t earn more because you exist higher up the org chart.
You earn more because you take on higher-leverage problems with higher potential consequences — and you’re trusted to solve them.

You want bigger payouts?
Then bring bigger impact.

That’s the game.

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It’s Not About Defending the Billionaires

Let’s be clear — this isn’t some rah-rah billionaire fan club.
We’re not here to ignore inequality or defend tech bros with yachts.

But if your mindset is “burn it all down,” you’re not going to build much.

And you definitely won’t lead.

If you actually want to create change?
Step up.
Start something.
Hire people.
Take responsibility.

And treat your team with the kind of humanity most companies forgot about.

Because here’s the real kicker:

Impact scales.
And when you carry the weight of real responsibility, the rewards will follow.
Not because you chased the money — but because you carried the risk that no one else wanted.

So no, don’t eat the rich.

Build something meaningful.
Lead something worth following.
Create opportunities.

And maybe, just maybe — make the world a little better than you found it.