It's a shame this company is going to fail - Engineer PassiveLogic Employee Review

As CEO, I thought I’d personally respond to this review. I think for anyone looking at an early stage startup, there are a few things brought up in this review you may want to reflect on. This response relates to our blog series on building authentic startup culture and individual contributor growth (see our blog) Startups are the pro-sports of the tech world, especially at the very early stage this review refers to (5 employees, pre-funding, 5 years ago, etc.). Every contributor is required to be more, do more, expand their skills, pitch in, and do it all with minimal support. Startups are not for everybody! Helping each other out is key to the success (and future) of any early stage startup. Empathy towards each contributor is key. Growing a company requires that I put my all in, including working unusual hours because I’m mentoring team members after hours, on calls with partners in time zones around the world, or taking on my own individual contributor role early or late in the day. In my experience with my startup leader peers, this “all in” approach is a requirement, and I appreciate my team members who demonstrate empathy to the huge lift leadership is juggling in multiple dimensions that others might not even be fully aware of. So if I’m juggling 26 things, an engineer might pitch in by arranging travel. It’s what we do. What anyone looking at a startup should recognize is that startups are an ultramarathon. I appreciate that this reviewer chose to run with us for a couple miles early on. The rest of the team has committed to the whole journey. It’s important to recognize that to win the race means finishing the race. Being a good sport means congratulating the finishers even when you decided to leave the race early. Not only has PassiveLogic followed through on all of its commitments, but the largest startup law firm in the country noted PassiveLogic’s employee agreements have been objectively the most pro-employee they’ve seen in their 40 years of doing business. -Troy