I applied for an Account Executive role that could grow into Head of Commercial. The process started strong. Fast, clear, respectful. The COO led the process and she was excellent. Smart, energising, very grounded in early-stage commercial work. I’ve done scale-up and the messy early phase, so her approach felt right. Honestly, I left those first rounds thinking, yes, I could work with her. Then came the panel simulation. The two founders and Co-CEOs joined. I presented a customer deck and took questions. Immediate bad vibes. One founder spent the session scanning elsewhere, her eyes darting around the whole time. No eye contact, distracted, then a quick “thank you” at the end. The other tried to sound impressive but it felt pompous, a bit theatre. I pushed through because the COO was running it, and she was the only one giving me confidence. I got the offer and was initially excited. During comp talks, that uneasy feeling came back, so I did deeper research into the founders. What I found didn’t reassure me. Limited operating track record, with companies founded with friends and family. One company that was dissolved. The female founder only has a couple of years of consulting experience. The male founder especially set off alarms. I didn’t feel at ease in the room. I work with men all the time. This felt different. Off. I later also found out the founders were in a romantic relationship. I declined. It’s been awhile since I interviewed and I was doing some industry research and decided to look back into Pivotal. I’ve seen the COO has recently left. It’s a big loss for them because she was the best part of the experience and what made the company credible but I also feel like I dodged a bullet as I may have been left to deal with the founders alone. I actually feel bad writing this review because I would definitely work with the COO again, just want to warn people about the founders - they are inexperienced, unprofessional and rude towards candidates and honestly just a little creepy - I would never want to work for them.