Y Combinator‑backed AI startup is under fire after its founder offered instant interviews to partygoers who got company tattoos, then apologized

Jordan Zietz wanted to find people who were, in his words, "just as crazy" as him. So the CEO of LemonLime, a five-month-old AI automation startup, brought a tattoo artist to a party after YC Startup School and made an offer: get inked with the company logo, skip the line for an interview. Seven people did it.

Zietz posted about the whole thing on LinkedIn, seemingly proud of the stunt, even telling prospective applicants to "take notes." That post is gone now. The internet did what the internet does, and the reaction was brutal. One person on X joked about getting branded for a job only to be rejected anyway. Another said the job market couldn't possibly be so brutal that people need permanent ink to land an interview.

Under pressure, Zietz walked it back. He claims the tattoos were actually free and optional, not required, and that his original post just didn't say that clearly. Except it kind of did — the deleted post specifically dangled the interview for a LemonLime tattoo, not just any tattoo. In his apology, Zietz called the stunt reckless and said it showed poor judgment, adding that anyone could interview whether they got tattooed or not. He and some LemonLime team members got the logo tattoo too, apparently to show solidarity.

Not everyone at the party went along with the logo idea. Dimple Amitha Garuadapuri, founder of Stri Health and one of the people featured in Zietz's original post, said she skipped the LemonLime branding and got something personal instead — and she says she loves it. Meanwhile Palmer Luckey of Anduril jumped in on X to defend Zietz, arguing adults shouldn't need protecting from their own tattoo choices and that critics would never be satisfied no matter what he said.

Zietz, in his final word on the matter, admitted he got "carried away" and said LemonLime would cover tattoo removal costs for anyone who wants out. All seven original applicants are still in the interview pipeline.