In the startup world, interviews are often seen as a two-way process where both the company and the candidate evaluate each other. While job seekers are expected to make a good first impression, many believe employers and founders are equally responsible for showing professionalism and respect. A recent post by a Bengaluru entrepreneur has now sparked a wider conversation on workplace etiquette after he recalled an interview experience that convinced him to walk away from an opportunity.Founder made him wait 40 minutes without an apologyBengaluru-based entrepreneur Shikhar Saxena recently shared on X that he once interviewed with what he described as a "very popular founder." However, instead of the meeting beginning as scheduled, he was left waiting for around 40 minutes without any explanation or apology.Recalling the experience, he wrote, "I once interviewed with a very popular founder who made me wait 40 minutes, and didn't even say sorry."Saxena said the incident was enough for him to reconsider joining the company. He added, "I decided to not work with them, and later heard horrible stories from people who joined him."Explaining why the incident stayed with him, he said, "Not apologizing/following-up shows severe lack of empathy, and it's almost always a good idea to avoid such people."His post has since drawn attention on X, with many users saying they had faced similar situations during interviews or meetings with company founders.Respect during interviews mattersThe post prompted several people to share their own experiences with poor interview etiquette.One user recalled an interview arranged through a friend and wrote, "Once a friend arranged an interview with a founder. First question, why are we meeting? He had no clue about things and what to say, and it looked like he was being dragged. Very arrogant. To this day, I always consider the worst interview/call I had and benchmark every interview with that."Another user agreed with Saxena's decision, commenting, "Good call not to work with them; I had a similar story. It's always more difficult to find people with good work ethics/integrity than to find skilled people."A different user described such behaviour as common, writing, "Sadly this is way too common. A stupid business move in my opinion."Another commenter suggested that some people deliberately use delays as a way to establish authority. The user wrote, "worst thing is, some consider it a power dynamic move to pull off things like this. makes them numb to the need to apologise."Others echoed similar views. One user commented, "True, I've seen it's quite common in India though, sadly in US maybe also and with my European clients never seen that." Another simply described the lack of an apology as a warning sign, writing, "Not apologising is a massive red flag."