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Four Years in Startups

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Re: Four Years in Startups

#71

Post by aditya34 »

magneticnorth wrote: post #69
v64 wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What part of the quote identifies him? From my reading it sounds generic enough that it could apply to a number of abusive CEOs. Other users have identified the company as Mixpanel, so I'm curious about what specific hints I had overlooked.

A little bit before this in the article the company is described in enough detail that someone familiar with it would recognize it: "I read puff pieces about the analytics startup’s co-founders, now twenty-four and twenty-five, with one Silicon Valley internship between them ... the C.E.O. and the technical co-founder left their college in the Southwest to join. The startup had twelve million dollars in venture fundi…

Also the author previously listed the specific company on Linkedin or other bios.

Re: Four Years in Startups

#72

Post by aditya34 »

whitepoplar wrote: post #50
aditya34 wrote: post #26

"The employees tried to be the C.E.O’s friends, but we were not his friends. He shut down our ideas and belittled us in private meetings; he dangled responsibility and prestige, only to retract them inexplicably. We regularly brought him customer feedback, like dogs mouthing tennis balls, and he regularly ignored us. He was expensive to work for: at least two of my co-workers met with therapists to talk through their…

Any chance you can elaborate on the cruelness, either publicly or privately?

A lot of it is in older reviews on Glassdoor: https://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Mixpanel-Reviews-E406910.h...

(This doesn't represent the current CEO or company.)

There is a lot there about the CEO's arrogance, bullying, ego, micromanagement. I've worked with early startup founders, the part that bothered me the most was his wanton cruelty.

Belittling employees or their work. Watching people leave (with families) pressuring them to stay late. Making employees cry (regularly), firing without cause and showing no emotional reaction. Calling people and their ideas dumb in front of others. Telling an engineer about an idea then declaring "if i thought of that, what am i paying you for?"

Here are a couple excerpts from glassdoor:

"-CEO is a dictator. -Fire as quickly as they hire. -Work/Life balance is a joke. -Culture is arrogant, stifling."

"One of my worst experiences ever. After someone was fired, management would send out emails to the entire company explaining why that person was let go (sometimes, for very superficial and even somewhat spurious reasons). While I'm all for keeping people in the loop, this sends a really poor message to current employees. What kind of email will be written about me when I leave or am let go? If I'm struggling with my own performance, should I expect the entire company to eventually hear about it?

It's a pretty well-known fact that Mixpanel treats their new employees terribly. I suggest anyone looking for employment at this company to keep searching or get a second opinion."

"This place is a revolving door. Every month the CEO has let someone great go.

Heartless management."

"- Horrible leadership: yes, he's young and relatively inexperienced, but the CEO also just treats people pretty badly"

Re: Four Years in Startups

#73

Post by aditya34 »

artsyca wrote: post #38
aditya34 wrote: post #26

"The employees tried to be the C.E.O’s friends, but we were not his friends. He shut down our ideas and belittled us in private meetings; he dangled responsibility and prestige, only to retract them inexplicably. We regularly brought him customer feedback, like dogs mouthing tennis balls, and he regularly ignored us. He was expensive to work for: at least two of my co-workers met with therapists to talk through their…

Let's not dox the poor bastard

If he had ever made any attempt, written directly or otherwise, to apologize for his behavior firing, mistreating, and belittling close to 100 people, I would not feel compelled to name him.

Compared to those he mistreated, it seems he got away with it pretty nicely.

Re: Four Years in Startups

#75

Post by gorkemcetin »

aditya34 wrote: post #72
whitepoplar wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Any chance you can elaborate on the cruelness, either publicly or privately?

A lot of it is in older reviews on Glassdoor: https://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Mixpanel-Reviews-E406910.h... (This doesn't represent the current CEO or company.) There is a lot there about the CEO's arrogance, bullying, ego, micromanagement. I've worked with early startup founders, the part that bothered me the most was his wanton cruelty. Belittling employees or their work. Watching people leave (with families) pre…

Any CEO would be ousted out by board if he/she receives such negative reviews.

Re: Four Years in Startups

#76

Post by aditya34 »

gorkemcetin wrote: post #75
aditya34 wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A lot of it is in older reviews on Glassdoor: https://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Mixpanel-Reviews-E406910.h... (This doesn't represent the current CEO or company.) There is a lot there about the CEO's arrogance, bullying, ego, micromanagement. I've worked with early startup founders, the part that bothered me the most was his wanton cruelty. Belittling employees or their work. Watching people leave (with families) pre…

Any CEO would be ousted out by board if he/she receives such negative reviews.

And was!

It took years because the CEO owned a majority share of the company.

Re: Four Years in Startups

#77

Post by poseidonist »

aditya34 wrote: post #72
whitepoplar wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Any chance you can elaborate on the cruelness, either publicly or privately?

A lot of it is in older reviews on Glassdoor: https://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Mixpanel-Reviews-E406910.h... (This doesn't represent the current CEO or company.) There is a lot there about the CEO's arrogance, bullying, ego, micromanagement. I've worked with early startup founders, the part that bothered me the most was his wanton cruelty. Belittling employees or their work. Watching people leave (with families) pre…

> management would send out emails to the entire company explaining why that person was let go

a few months back we had a meeting for people to ask questions after someone was fired. Didn't leave me feeling any better.

Re: Four Years in Startups

#78

Post by codyb »

v64 wrote: post #63
shellmayr wrote: post #55

The text really captured my attention. I've recently been struggling with whether or not tech and the modern internet are a force for good. I always enjoyed tinkering with hardware and software, and have been working in related jobs because it pays well and there are always interesting challenges to solve. But the societal shifts ongoing in Europe, the filter bubbles and breaking down of discourse, the xenophobia and…

I don't have any good advice, but just wanted to say you're definitely not alone. I left the tech industry due to these feelings and observations.

Mind if I asked what you got into instead and how you transitioned to it?

Re: Four Years in Startups

#79

Post by crustacean »

shellmayr wrote: post #55

The text really captured my attention. I've recently been struggling with whether or not tech and the modern internet are a force for good. I always enjoyed tinkering with hardware and software, and have been working in related jobs because it pays well and there are always interesting challenges to solve. But the societal shifts ongoing in Europe, the filter bubbles and breaking down of discourse, the xenophobia and…

Sink deeper into that tech hangover and use your tech skills to fund yourself

Re: Four Years in Startups

#80

Post by v64 »

codyb wrote: post #78
v64 wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't have any good advice, but just wanted to say you're definitely not alone. I left the tech industry due to these feelings and observations.

Mind if I asked what you got into instead and how you transitioned to it?

Sure, although I'm not sure how helpful the answer will be as I'm still trying to figure things out myself :)

After I quit my job in 2017, I floundered for a bit while living off of my savings. Later that year, the big crypto bull run happened and I was introduced to trading. After the bubble popped, I learned how to trade options through TastyTrade [1] and have been doing that since. TastyTrade CEO Tom Sosnoff [2] has a refreshing attitude toward finance that totally spits in the face of Wall Street. I think the way he's addressed and dealt with Wall Street has some clues for how we can similarly criticize the excesses of tech.

For now, getting myself back on my feet has just been the start. I still feel unsatisfied with where I am in life and how I'm interacting with my community and what I can do for others. I have some vague ideas about how to use the money I've raised to bring more awareness to these issues in tech and to support those who are building organizations that address these issues from day one. I don't have anything concrete yet, but I've been trying to network and learn more.

[1] https://tastytrade.com/

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Sosnoff

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