Exceptional Talent Squandered While Ego Drives a Once-Promising Company Into the Ground
Pros
The standout aspect of my time at Ninety.io was the caliber of my colleagues—sharp, committed professionals who collaborated effectively and drove toward shared goals with genuine dedication. Their efforts alone deserve five stars, as they represented the company's true potential.
Cons
The CEO, who envisions himself as a leader and visionary, is in fact the very reason for this once-promising company's demise. A hypocrite driven by ego, the CEO routinely ignores the very principles he espouses are the foundation of this company. He literally fails to practice the very operating system and ethos he preaches to team members and stakeholders alike, demanding adherence from others while exempting himself from the same standards. This glaring inconsistency has cultivated a toxic environment where fear, retribution, burnout, and ultimately, failure has led to widespread departures—whether team members are fired, laid off, or compelled to leave voluntarily. The BoD and senior leadership either contribute to the dysfunction or tacitly sustains it, all but ensuring the damage will be permanent. In an increasingly challenging job market, many of the skilled professionals who've been forced out of Ninety now face unemployment and financial uncertainty for themselves and their families, a needless outcome which was largely avoidable, and for which the CEO is solely responsible. His dismissal of informed advice from department leaders and entire teams, along with blame-shifting and gaslighting when issues surface, directly contributes to the company's current growth and financial struggles amid a rapidly advancing AI-informed landscape. He invariably deflects responsibility onto those both still employed and who've exited (nearly all early hires and a growing contingent of team members from the past two years), claiming cultural misalignment or lack of commitment. These are fabrications; the core issue has always been him and his ultimate dereliction of duty. Without real intervention to enforce accountability, the company's remnants are doomed to fail—and at this stage, collapse seems inevitable regardless.