Author: Xiaobing
On August 24th, former Hack VC partner and Platform Lead, Hsin-Ju Chuang, published a lengthy post on X, accusing the firm of demanding she work 13 to 14 hours a day, 6 days a week while suffering from a serious illness and chronic insomnia; when she expressed her intention to leave, senior management allegedly threatened her with "industry blacklisting" to compel her to complete a major conference and a series of events during Korea Blockchain Week.
According to the numbers she provided, this equates to 78 to 84 hours of work per week.
She also announced she had fired her legal counsel, rejected any settlement agreements containing non-disclosure clauses, and previewed the full release of evidence on August 26th.
From Early Solana Employee to Hack VC Partner
Hsin-Ju is not an ordinary newcomer to the crypto industry.
She previously handled growth at Stellar, joined the then-small Solana team in 2018 as Head of Growth. A team introduction published by Solana that year also listed her position, proving she was indeed a very early member of Solana.
Thereafter, she founded Dystopia Labs, long organizing Ethereum developer events, and once managed growth operations for Fhenix. Starting in 2021, she participated part-time at Hack VC, becoming a full-time partner and Platform Lead in 2025.
In the lengthy post published on August 24th, she stated she had worked full-time at Hack VC for only 7 months, but had previously collaborated part-time for several years. Before resigning, her annual salary had just been raised from $250,000 to $300,000, and she received a $30,000 bonus, an additional carry promise, and an opportunity to join the GP entity.
She proactively disclosed these compensation details, seemingly to preempt an almost inevitable question: does a partner earning a $300,000 annual salary, plus fund profit-sharing, have the right to complain about work intensity?
Her answer is that this is not a "wage complaint" stemming from dissatisfaction with compensation, but a public accusation following damage to her health and personal boundaries.
What Allegations Has Hsin-Ju Made?
So far, her account can be summarized into five parts.
One: Demanded to Work High-Intensity Hours While Seriously Ill
Hsin-Ju stated that at the time, she had been diagnosed with Graves' disease, hyperthyroidism, and suffered from severe insomnia. She worked 13 to 14 hours a day, 6 days a week, sleeping only 0 to 4 hours per night.
Her responsibilities included the Hack Summit and related events during Korea Blockchain Week. According to her account, she repeatedly requested to withdraw from the project and even leave the company, but was unsuccessful.
Two: Threatened with "Industry Blacklisting" to Prevent Her Departure
She named and accused Hack VC co-founder Alex Pack and partner Daniel Bulaevsky, alleging they used industry connections to pressure her.
Hsin-Ju stated that Alex Pack told her he knew most managing partners of VC firms, had nearly a decade of industry relationships, and could have her blacklisted within the industry.
Both the VC and crypto industries heavily rely on reputation, referrals, and personal networks. A significant number of job opportunities are not created through public recruitment but through endorsements among funds, founders, and core community members. The so-called "blacklisting" doesn't necessarily require a formal list; just a few phone calls or negative comments could potentially cause someone to lose financing, employment, and collaboration opportunities.
Three: Deteriorating Work and Mental State, Ultimately Leading to Suicidal Behavior
Hsin-Ju claimed that nearly a month of sustained high pressure, threats, and sleep deprivation severely deteriorated her mental state, ultimately leading to suicidal behavior.
Even after this incident, she reportedly informed Hack VC in writing that she had no plans to sue the company. Her condition was that the company would not retaliate or defame her within the industry.
Four: COBRA Health Insurance Issues Persisted for Nearly 4 Months After Resignation
Hsin-Ju stated that one month after her resignation, problems arose with her COBRA continuation health coverage. Hack VC allegedly did not resolve the issue promptly but repeatedly instructed her to contact third-party customer service. The problem persisted for nearly 4 months until she hired a lawyer to intervene, after which it was handled.
COBRA is a U.S. continuation health coverage system, allowing eligible employees to temporarily continue participating in their former employer's group health insurance plan after leaving, typically bearing most or all of the premium themselves.
The U.S. Department of Labor's employer guidelines clearly state that even if a company hires a third-party administrator for group insurance, employers subject to ERISA and COBRA regulations still bear corresponding compliance responsibilities. However, whether Hack VC's specific insurance plan is applicable, and whether the problem originated with the company or the third-party administrator, still requires awaiting more documents.
For someone who had just experienced a severe health crisis, health insurance is not ordinary post-resignation paperwork but a lifeline for continuing treatment. This is also why Hsin-Ju views this as "retaliation."
Five: Refused Settlement Money in Exchange for Silence
According to Hsin-Ju's description, the parties' lawyers had been in contact for nearly a year and were preparing to enter private mediation and settlement stages. However, she ultimately decided to dismiss her own lawyer and reject any compensation conditioned on confidentiality.
She wrote that she would rather receive $0 than accept settlement money in exchange for silence, and plans to publicly release case evidence on August 26th.
Hack VC responded, stating they have noted the post and are concerned about Hsin-Ju's health, but there are significant disagreements about the sequence of events; for privacy reasons, they will not provide a detailed public response at this time.
Awaiting a Response
The crypto industry likes to talk about permissionlessness, censorship resistance, personal sovereignty, and freedom to exit. But in reality, crypto VCs and project teams still rely on an extremely small network of relationships:
- A few funds control financing;
- A few conferences control exposure;
- A few partners control industry endorsements;
- A few exchanges and KOLs control liquidity and narratives.
For ordinary practitioners, on-chain assets can be freely withdrawn, but professional relationships may not be so easily exited.
One can transfer tokens out of a wallet at any time, but may not dare to easily resign from a fund that controls industry resources.
The ultimate categorization of this matter awaits the evidence she promised to release, and also requires giving Hack VC the opportunity to provide a complete response.
Perhaps most interestingly, after the exposure and accusation, many people's first reaction in the comments was:
That's it? In China, this wouldn't even be considered excessive.
The truly frightening thing is not that someone publicly accuses themselves of working 80 hours a week, but that more people see this number and no longer feel it's worth complaining about.
