back to article A trip to the dole queue: CEO of $2bn Bay Area tech biz says he was fired for taking LSD before company meeting

The co-founder and CEO of Iterable, a San Francisco marketing tech biz valued at over $2bn, claims he was fired after admitting to micro-dosing LSD at work. Justin Zhu, a Twitter alum, founded his upstart with former Google Adsense veteran Andrew Boni in 2013 and built it into a company employing more than 400 staff with a …

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      1. Fruit and Nutcase Silver badge
        Alert

        but I might look to park next to a tree or something if that makes a difference

        I try to avoid parking too near trees in car parks - once had a branch fall on the car...

    1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

      "I don't advocate the use of LSD at all but I do think it has it's merits and probably needs some proper research."

      I'm pretty sure the US government, especially the CIA, did some serious long term testing of LSD and various other drugs of that type. There doesn't seem to be any public recommended uses for any of them coming from official circles.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        I've seen some recent studies with regards to mushrooms besides the CIA weren't testing cognitive ability were they.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      So - you already had the experience of (metaphorically) staring directly into the sun and knew better?

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Dummy, should have kept it to himself!

  2. Danny Boyd

    "Startup" founded 8 years ago and still on backing from venture capital? No wonder, if its CEO flies with Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.

    1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge
    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      old startups

      I've worked with 15 year old 'startups' still being funded by VC cash machines - calling something a 'startup' is a 'not having a better name for something that suits the articles purpose' I suspect...

  3. storner
    Pint

    I see a trend here

    "Alcohol-fuelled Danish film directed by Thomas Vinterberg takes the top prize for non-English language film at the Academy Awards"

    https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/apr/26/another-round-starring-mads-mikkelsen-wins-best-international-feature-oscar

    (Too obvious an icon, sorry...)

  4. Howard Sway Silver badge

    CEO of Iterable

    They've just moved on to the next one.

    * programmer joke

    1. Dinanziame Silver badge
      Angel

      Re: CEO of Iterable

      CEO++;

      1. Jimmy2Cows Silver badge

        Re: CEO of Iterable

        ++CEO;

        Pre-increment please. Any fule kno making a copy of your old CEO is inefficient.

        1. Richard 12 Silver badge

          Re: CEO of Iterable

          But sometimes destroying the copy is cathartic.

    2. Fruit and Nutcase Silver badge
      Coat

      CEO AI/Automation!

      CEOs are hugely expensive – why not automate them?

      If a single role is as expensive as thousands of workers, it is surely the prime candidate for robot-induced redundancy.

      https://www.newstatesman.com/business/companies/2021/04/ceos-are-hugely-expensive-why-not-automate-them

  5. chivo243 Silver badge
    Coat

    Mayor Quimby

    May all of your public disgraces be private...

  6. IGotOut Silver badge

    There are studies underway...

    To study the effects of LSD on people suffering chronic depression and anxiety.

    Underground experiments have shown LARGE doses effectively reset the brain.

    A current study can be found here:

    https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03866252

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: There are studies underway...

      They should also study the effectiveness of a LART

      1. Swarthy
        Alert

        Re: There are studies underway...

        I believe the testing has been quite extensive, if not formalized, for retro-phrenology.

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I like it recreationally

    I also like going out in public while tripping, but doing it at work is a step too far.

    1. DarkwavePunk

      Re: I like it recreationally

      Never gone out in public on LSD. I have quite a few times on magic mushrooms though.

      Then again, I'm a fun guy.

  8. Fruit and Nutcase Silver badge
    Joke

    Move over Cheech and Chong

    There is a new double act in town -

    Musk and Zhu

  9. Nightkiller

    Explains a lot about the popularity of Critical Race Theory.

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    If there is anything this dumb fucking species needs, its some LSD

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Alert

    Timothy Leary's Dead

    I went to college in the early 70s and my friends and I experimented with a number of illegal drugs. I didn't continue but some of my friends did. My current drugs of choice are caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol (coffee,cigars, and wine with an occasional Islay malt).

    In my experience, it boils down to dosage. Large doses of LSD can mess you up but so can large doses of Tequila.

    Lessons learned from this.

    1) don't admit to it.

    2) don't do if in management meetings.

    3) remember that venture capitalism are interested in your company, not you.

    1. amanfromMars 1 Silver badge

      Re: Timothy Leary's Dead

      HildyJ, Hi,

      Your post could equally well be entitled ..... Timothy Leary's Not Dead Yet.:-)

      And aint that the gospel truth!

      IT certainly makes life interesting ....... all this mind-bending and thought-expanding small talk stuff...... and does reveal a massive postmodern and ancient treasure trove of abiding weaknesses and novel vulnerabilities to explore and exploit, enjoy and employ ...... and to offer to markets for capitalisation/fiat valuation of perceived worth, future strength, power and energy.

      And aint that the gospel truth too ‽ . :-)

      1. amanfromMars 1 Silver badge

        Re: Timothy Leary's Not Dead Yet ‽ :-)

        And, probably even more importantly and lucratively and possibly also disruptively ...... export and introduce to leaderships and administering executives in foreign lands and alien territories too, which makes IT something of an obscure and ominous and stealthy weapon to wield wisely.

  12. skeptical i
    Paris Hilton

    Fired in 2021 for a meeting in 2019?

    If I'm reading this right, they only fired him because he 'fessed up. Employee handbook aside, if he didn't do anything ELSE to warrant firing (did his productivity plummet? did he assault co-workers? how DID that dosed meeting go, by the way?), this sounds kinda' petty and worthy of a Stern Talking To, not a full-blown firing. Is there more to the story that I missed?

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