There's a Steve Jobs quote: “It doesn't make sense to hire smart people and then tell them what to to. We hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.” Toptal is the antithesis of this thought process. Regardless of your expertise and your career experience, you are instructed to do exactly as the CEO says. He micromanages, belittles and loses his cool in extraordinary outbursts more than any other CEO or corporate leader I have ever worked for. I'd even go so far as to say there is little-to-no psychological safety when working directly with the CEO. Further, there is no board and no shareholder program. There is absolutely no oversight or checks and balances for poor behavior, nor clear investment in team members for the long-term. The company is large, and you may be able to enjoy a happy existence there never encountering the CEO, but the likelihood is low given his propensity to micromanage. The product is great and there are so many talented people there. It's a shame the CEO is the way he is, because he's the main thing standing in the way of the success of the company and its people. Other observations: too many inconsequential meetings, lack of guidance or forward looking predictions for business performance to help motivate and provide clarity, constantly changing objectives and guidance based on CEO's mood of the day, sketchy policies that were born out of competitive paranoia, there were layoffs recently and it damaged employee morale. It's easy to dismiss a negative review as a disgruntled employee, but I share my thoughts in a genuine effort to advise others as to what to expect if you work here, or are debating working here.
