I applied for a C-level position with xcellerate (formerly Accelerate HK (a startup)) and was invited for an interview with the CEO. Everything went well, and he invited me to come back again to meet with his colleagues - 2 senior C-level execs. The first colleague was very young and she asked me about my background and qualifications. interview went well. I then met with another colleague on a different day. He was much older. again similar questions, plus we happened to be from the same city in the US, so it was more reminiscing. So I thought it went pretty well. After three meetings, three phone calls, and several email correspondence - I never heard back. Ghosted. About a year later, I was again approached by the CEO via two emails and a phone call regarding a new post - Part time Data Science Instructor - (so very junior, compared to what I had applied for before). He asked me if I would be comfortable in this role. I said yes, with the right training. We agreed on salary. He said fine. He then arranged a meeting with the CTO to facilitate this training - all via email. I arrived and was greeted by the CTO and another Instructor. But rather than facilitate the training, it was yet "another interview"!!! They asked me about my background and qualifications - again!! I obliged, but explained to them that the CEO had scheduled this meeting to begin training. They continued asking me about what I'm doing now (which was similar to this role) and then began to ask about obscure questions - references to AI, and its history. Then they thanked me and said they would email me. Which they did. In the email message, they said I wasn't suitable. I really question the sincerity of these startups when it comes to hiring, especially if the applicant is a woman in STEM.