HyperSocial CEO Braden Wallake.
HyperSocial CEO Braden Wallake is making headlines again after another emotional LinkedIn post.
Commenters were quick to accuse Wallake of using his grandmother’s death to promote the marketing startup.
Wallake faced backlash in August for posting a crying selfie after having to fire two employees.
A marketing startup CEO known for posting a crying selfie to LinkedIn earlier this year is once again getting side eyes for a post about the death of his grandmother.
On Tuesday, Braden Wallake, chief executive of Columbus, Ohio-based HyperSocial, shared a message about the passing of his grandmother with his 43,000 LinkedIn followers.
“My grandma passed away today,” the post began.
“I got the text from my mom, closed my computer, and headed straight over to her house,” Wallake wrote. “While driving to my moms, I was reminded days like today are why I do what I do.”
Wallake continued the post by saying “there’s more to life than working,” and describing his negative experience with “hustle culture.”
Braden Wallake
LinkedIn users quickly expressed their disdain for Wallake’s post — even going so far as to say he used his grandmother’s death for his own gain. So far, the post has received 128 comments.
“Such a sad post, to use your Grandmom’s death as a way to promote your company,” one commenter wrote.
“This post went from bad news of grandma passing to promoting the company. Sad for you in many ways,” another comment read.
Wallake spoke to the New York Post about the backlash he’s been receiving online.
“I’m not exploiting her death for company promotion,” Wallake told The Post. “It would suck if I couldn’t be there for my mom because of work. And the same thing for our clients. We exist so they don’t miss out on life.”
Wallake dubbed himself the “Crying CEO” after another LinkedIn post went viral in August. He posted a tearful photo of himself after letting go two employees saying it was “the most vulnerable thing” he’d ever share.
He responded to critics of the post about his grandmother’s death on LinkedIn.
“Sometimes I get so lost in the weeds it’s hard to remember the why behind what I do,” Wallake wrote. “But when I’m able to go be with my mom when her mom passes away and know that I can step away with no issues, I’m ever grateful for it.”