The worst experience of my professional career - Anonymous employee StartX Employee Review

1.0
27 Mar 2017
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Great staff of intelligent and hardworking young people that really want to make a difference. You meet some fascinating entrepreneurs that are creating the future

Cons

- Completely insane, immature and incompetent leadership. This was largely due to the CEO Cameron Teitelman. I've recently heard that StartX hired a new CEO and I certainly hope they did. Cameron was basically the main problem with StartX and his inexperience as a leader and immaturity was basically a boat anchor to improvement. Nothing would change until Cameron left and perhaps his departure will turn StartX around. - Stanford - if you did not attend Stanford, you're treated very differently than the "Stanford kids" - It was basically a rotating carousel of people. Departures were abrupt. It was a running joke that everyone was standing in line waiting for their turn to be dogged out by the CEO. It was sadly true. - No adult presence at the helm. Once again ties in to the poor leadership at the top. - The expectation that you'll spend evenings and weekends hanging out at the StartX place. Not everyone is a 21 year old and wants to spend time chilling with college students. Some people want to go home and enjoy their lives - Completely disorganized. If StartX were ever audited by the IRS or the state, the org would be in SERIOUS trouble. - Great program for entrepreneurs (we put on a great show!) - but an awful place to actually work.

Explore other reviews about StartX

5.0
9 Mar 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

No equity and fee given away. Great for founders who have no trouble raising money. The founder / alumni community is one of the strongest in the whole Bay Area startup ecosystem.

Cons

The facility needs some improvement. The staff seem overworked.

2.0
8 May 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Great exposure to the Stanford/startup ecosystem and an incredibly strong founder community Lots of smart, inspiring people and interesting ideas around you all the time The work feels meaningful and most people genuinely care about founders and the mission (it's a non profit) Mos of the team is thoughtful, mission-driven, and collaborative Work life balance sometimes is ok (depending on cohort schedule)

Cons

Management - board changed 3 CEOs in 2 years and laid off more than half of the team, almost zero transparency from board on the direction, and the board is weirdly powerful in daily operation, created lots of turbulances and low morale. Very low pay (non profit pay) and low resources yet high expectation, everyone is overworked and resentful. Also very low investment and commitment to employee growth so you don't see hope and respect.

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