Or they can hire moderately smart people who can work 10 hours a day and can produce the goods of a whole day !

Having participated in start-ups where there was solid plan (work long, but reasonable hours and stay healthy) and one where there was not a solid plan (work crazy hours, do not have a life, and stay sick for long stretches); I recommend the former. Working 24/7 does not mean that your start-up goes more smoothly or achieves higher success...it just means that you don't ahve a focused plan, don't have enough of or the right people, or cannot fairly articulate how you want to achieve the goals and objectives to others so you don't have to work 24/7. If you have to work 24/7 because of competitive, maketplace, or funding constraints; maybe you are in the wrong place at the wrong time and/or going about things in the wrong ways and for the wrong reasons/rewards.

No, only the founder(s) need have that approach, you do need committed people but not because they have nothing better to do, unless your line of business is something routine and requires no creativity.

Works 24 hours a day basically does not have to sit in front of the workstation but I believe it is the dedication and mindset which turn to the best for the start-up... no matter what they are doing and where they are. Ideas just spark through minds. That is my definition of 24 hours worker...

If you are going to work 24/7;you will spoil your personal life, and in turn that will affect your professional life. Being a consultant for various start-ups; I personally feel that by working 24/7, as Dale stated you cannot achieve higher success. What is more important for a start up is a focussed plan, good strategy, and set of committed people. Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn.

What a brilliant topic, makes me believe joining fast web is a must for those interested in intellectual development. Indeed in some situations a startup must work the whole 9 yards- 24 hours albeit there situations e.g seasonal businesses where 24 hours might be unrealistic , the cost benefit analysis is imperative, the 24 hours would increase operational overheads is the underlying consideration, all said and done i would agree there is no room for relaxation for a start up, brain storming remains a 24 hour input on the investor, focus lost for even a minute may prove fatal for any business infact ,not only startups one can conclude

Well, depends on the job. If the job is blogging there people who can do it 20h per day, 5-6 days per week. So, let’s say these people work 2 months with productivity 80% of the maximum (100%). If the first month they have productivity 90% of the maximum, the second one - 70% (this is average 90%) and if we put third one - 40% productivity, then it seems that only 2 months are acceptable for this. Obviously, it’s good to hire people who can work 20 hours a day for two months. This is going to bring you fast progress, but also a problem how to find these people.

One of the things the military taught me is the difference between maximum and sustainable effort. I can ask for maximum effort for a short time and get a spike in productivity or I can plan to sustainable effort and have that level of productivity forever.

With a start up I need an initial spike followed by a consistent level of production. The trick is finding a mix of people - some who like the big push and a lot who like a more even work flow.