Any of the stresses or downsides of the job would be outdated, since I left in 2015. But you might notice that they deleted their Glassdoor in 2020 because reviews were terrible! So here I am again to share my negative experiences.
The pay was terrible. Granted, I wasn't worth much when I started, but I was a slave to that place, because I genuinely wanted it to succeed. I know people like to throw around the term "60-hour weeks" haphazardly, but I was working 60-hour weeks. I lived one block from the office, I didn't date, I didn't have any hobbies, I worked constantly. I worked myself into the dirt. This wasn't required, but after three years of this, you really hope the feeling of constant drowning will cease. It never did.
People dunk on the CEO and CTO a lot. I mostly got along with them. I played racquetball in the mornings with the CTO. Hell, I helped him move one weekend. I would say that we were very friendly, if not friends. I will say though that the CEO was not a nice guy. Most of the time he was fine, but very clearly idolized Steve Jobs and relished every opportunity to put his foot down and be a jerk if he wasn't satisfied with your work. He's a talented guy with good taste, but I hated working for him... because, well, it was clear he didn't care about us. We were a tool to 10x his way to glory, or something. I don't really know.
I finally had enough in 2015, put in my notice, and accepted a job elsewhere in another state. They had strung me along with promises of equity in the company, and it never happened.
Something like 6 months later they had a major security breach and attempted to blame me for it. Yes, that really happened. They had their lawyers contact my new workplace. I was cleared, and never heard a peep from them to make things right with me. I still think about how awful it felt to be accused of that by the founders of a company I helped them build. Devastating and brutal.
To whomever dares to work here, don't be taken by any hype or suggestion of a work family. Most likely you will eventually be sickened by these guys.
