CEO doesn't understand technology...but is really good at selling vaporware
Pros
* The CEO is really good at selling/pitching and finds ways to raise money even when there is no functioning product to show. You really have to question where the money comes from sometimes... * You get to meet some really famous people in industry, that is until the CEO scares them away. * CEO is a fantastic mushroom manager. * You work with a lot of different people because the CEO is constantly hiring and firing. * You can still find ways to focus on your work because the CEO is really good at keeping people in the dark. * There are some snacks in the back room and you have some choice over them. * Occasional company dinners that you are forced to go to * You get your own used computer * You have some flexibility with day * You get a few days off each year
Cons
* CEO will hire and fire at his own disposal. He occasionally hires people he knows without team approval and they clash with the culture. Sets the team back a few weeks. * CEO will fire people that rub him the wrong way. Sometimes the guy you were working with on a customer feature will be gone the next day... * CEO will ruin deals at the last minute. A lot of engineering and business work will go into deals and things will look like they'll close. But at the last second you can count on the CEO to change the terms of the deal so there's no way it'll close. There were a couple of deals that fell through because the CEO thought he was Steve Jobs. * CEO will stop you from having fun in the office. If he sees you playing too many games of foosball he'll tell you to go back to your desk and get back to work. * If you're having an engineering meeting expect to have the CEO barge in and talk wildly about some "great idea" that in doesn't make sense technically. You just have to look at him and tell him "Yes, Yes! That's a great idea!" and wait for him to leave the room. Once he's gone you then need to take a few minutes to erase everything he said to you and get back to work on things that really matter. * Unreasonable deadlines are made that are never met and a lot of money is wasted with expediting hardware development, expediting shipping and sending people to places to demo broken products! * Whenever you agree on something with the CEO you have to get it in writing. His verbal word is never good enough he will change things on you and you can't do anything about it because there is no hard proof about what he promised. * CEO will create discord among management and engineering teams. He believes an environment where people are at each others necks is where great products are built. * CEO used to call for weekend "brainstorming" meetings. At the meetings he'll spend 4-5 hours spitballing ridiculous ideas while everyone listens with their eyes glazed over. The team would only wake up once he told everyone it was time to go to lunch on the company. * CEO will hide a lot of the negatives about the company from employees and even board members. People are not aware of lawsuits happening in the background, funding issues and unpaid debt. * Make sure you do a check on the CEO before you join this company. A CEO will make or break a company and this one is sure doing a great job and keeping VPS broken.
