"When you go to the Valley now, and when you go to China now, they are working seven days a week in the fastest-growing companies," says 20VC founder Harry Stebbings.

Venture capitalist Harry Stebbings faced a wave of backlash in June after urging European startup founders to increase their work hours — but he now admits there’s some room for nuance when applying his mantra.

Stebbings, founder of 20VC, a firm managing $650 million in funds, advised founders on LinkedIn last month that “7 days a week is the required velocity to win right now,” to compete with startups in Silicon Valley and China.

The post went viral, to Stebbings’ surprise, and sparked a debate on whether China’s brutal “996” work culture — which means working 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. six days a week — is needed in Europe.

“What Europe really needs isn’t more hustle-porn, it’s more aggressive funding,” Sarah Wernér, co-founder of Husmus, said back then.