The company was plagued by rash, uninformed decisions and had no clear direction. The culture revolved around intimidation, micromanagement, and narcissism. Turnover was extremely high, almost every week someone either quit or was let go. Gossip and rumors spread like wildfire, creating a toxic and unstable environment.
The product was consistently behind the competition and riddled with problems. Instead of focusing on meaningful improvements, leadership obsessed over cosmetic “make it look pretty” changes, most of which still failed. The product team operated entirely on guesswork, with no real industry expertise to guide decisions, leaving the roadmap scattered and misaligned with customer needs. A few valuable players kept the company afloat for as long as they could, but each of them was eventually pushed out.
Leadership was the root of the dysfunction. The CEO, a mediocre engineer with no business acumen, consolidated all leadership under himself. He was so widely disliked that employees openly discussed the need for his departure. The COO came across as an old-school placeholder, adding little value and demonstrating no clear skills or direction.
