There is a massive disconnect between the media version and the actual version of this company. This is both good and bad. Every company wants to create a good image. The issue is when employees enter with high expectations and are faced with the reality.
Several of my colleagues share the same opinion: that the company is in a good position to create fantastic products. Yet, we were consistently failing. Of course the management was unhappy. This created a negative feedback loop between management and employees.
This is a close-knit company. The folks "close" to the CEO are usually the original founding team. This is okay of course. But when any issue is discussed, the OG members tend to comment on topics way out of their depth. Eg. I have seen the CFO commenting on non-finance topics frequently and authoritatively. This puts new hires in a difficult spot. Because the CFO is partly the owner and the CEO's wife.
In general, this complex web of inter-personal connections creates difficulty for newcomers. If you say something about the product's quality (even constructively), the CTO might complain to the CEO. If you say ask about features, the CEO might intervene and tell you off. So it's best to shut up and do whatever they ask for. I have seen many people argue head on with the CXOs and it doesn't end well for them.
The easy answer is to blame the CEO. But I think the issue is more complex. From what I have seen, the CEO has a general distrust about the employees. He also has massive mood swings which makes it hard for new hires to gel with him.
But underlying all this is the fact that he is under a lot of stress. He wants to manage the product, he wants to understand the cutting edge research topics, he also wants to maintain his social reach. This is too much for one person to do. Try managing a company of 20 people, attend 2 product meetings, give talks on public forums, AND maintain an active Facebook of 4 posts/day.
This leads to dissatisfied employees and a very angry CEO.
The CEO's rants and scoldings are legendary within the company. From what I understood, it's best not to tell him bad news. Giving him bad news makes him anxious and he'll take it out on you. Even better, keep your mouth shut and do whatever he says. It's the best way to avoid any drama.
The top management (other than CEO) are to blame for this state. They are close to the CEO and should be honest with him. But they take the easy way out. Eg. the CFO makes several mistakes and ultimately blames it on someone else. Same with the CTO. They simply point the finger at some low level employee and it becomes his turn to get blasted. This leads to a culture of avoiding the CEO whenever you can. This eventually leads to a high attrition rate. So the company continues to lack fresh talent. If the only employees that stay are the founding ones, then they either have no other options (this is true for at least one CXO) or they are leeching off of the company's teat.
