I meshed well with the recruiter and eventually got to meet the CEO. The concerning part was how he said he was looking for "loyalty" and "this is NOT a 9-5 job" (meaning that everyone works more than 40 hours. and "We like to come into the office." The interview went fine, but it was winding and didn't really cover the actual job much. I left concerned because he said that wherever he felt my interests lie, that's where he would put me, not necessarily in the job I applied for. I've heard this before with startups. They often just use new talent to fill in areas where they are needed even though the candidates are applying for a very specific job. I was told to chat with a contractor whom the CEO was very enamored with. The CEO basically said that he would get the job but he won't take it. He wanted me to talk to this contractor to "see if I'm a fit for the job" That was the third interview. It went well. I have a deep background in the position I was applying for. I was then told that me and the only other candidate were eliminated from the hiring interviews. That they wanted to "change the direction of the position." I then saw the exact job reposted a few days later. The entire thing left a bad taste in my mouth. I wasted a lot of time with a company that doesn't really know what they want and seems to be in the vice grip of a very passionate founder who is a bit out of touch with what it means to create a good work culture. It felt like it would get very toxic very quickly. I also felt like the company was sloppy with my time and the other candidate's time. You need to know what you want before involve other people's livelihoods.