This startup like many other startups are just figuring out how to save cost, create an Engineering Hub in India and get an Engineering Leader in Bangalore. They have very less idea about the designation, the expertise required for the role, or why they want to increase the headcount to 150 in 1-2 years time frame. I was one of the interviewees early during their experimentation and realised that I wasted enough time with them. Round 1: A generic conversation with a member of the HR team. Round 2: Call with a Co-Founder who is also the CTO: A reasonable person and knows what he needs in an Engineering leader, but a bit weak on processes, hiring strategy, goals, KPIs etc. Round 3: Call with another Co-Founder: He was disengaged throughout the call, and didn't give a good interview experience. Round 4: Call with the last Co-Founder: He joined the call 15-20 minutes late, after informing the same. Then he spent around 2- minutes getting an understanding of my background, expertise etc. He sounded like he was in a hurry. Round 5: After calls with all the founders, the TA person called and asked me to work on a 2 year goal, budgeting, team structure, finances/costing, etc. I spent 2 days preparing the presentation, and spent an hour going over it. Except for 1 founder, rest of them were sleeping. It was an utter waste of time. Since they were in their experimentation phase, they wanted information through the PPT on budget, salary benchmarks etc. which they got a detailed understanding of, in my ppt. Lastly, the TA person called and they wanted to check if I can join for a Senior EM role, and they are looking for a seasoned more experienced Engineering leader who can be a Site Lead as well - someone like 20+ years of experience. I said I am not interested in getting a Demotion. Recently they have created a Job Opening for this role, for the first time - maybe now they have more information about this role, maybe they have wasted time of many other candidates. Overall, beware of this organization - keep your expectations clear and interview with them. Else you will waste your precious time talking to a bunch of noobs who think they know everything.