Pros
Excellent people and solid, modern technology.The CEO needs to develop a clear understanding of his strengths and limitations. He is clearly a hard worker and an entrepreneur, but managing people and leading a product organization are not among his strengths.
The company would benefit significantly if leadership in management and technology were delegated to people who are more experienced and capable in these areas, and allowed to truly lead.
The humiliating and disrespectful treatment of employees must stop. Real self-reflection is required.
I would strongly recommend that the CEO spend time visiting and observing other healthy, well-functioning companies in the industry in order to learn basic management norms, modern product leadership practices, and, most importantly, how people are expected to be treated in a professional environment.
Cons
Stargo is, unfortunately, a very poor place to work. What makes this especially frustrating is that most of the people are genuinely good, capable, and highly professional, and the technology itself is solid and fairly advanced.
The core and overwhelming problem is the CEO.
The CEO micromanages employees’ daily lives to an extreme degree. There is an expectation to be physically present four days a week from 9:00 to 18:00. Employees are reprimanded or even yelled at for leaving at 17:00. People are criticized for taking lunch at 12:00 instead of 12:30. This behavior is frequent and reflects a consistent lack of respect toward both team leads and individual contributors.
Instead of measuring output, impact, or results, productivity is judged almost entirely by physical presence and screen time. There is no meaningful understanding of how to evaluate engineering work. As a result, the company suffers from constant and large-scale attrition, including employees leaving after only a few months or even less.
The CEO also interferes heavily and destructively in development processes, often undermining good work done by strong engineers. This repeated interference ends up harming both the product and the team.
From the perspective of many employees, the CEO’s behavior often appears narcissistic: excessive control, personal intrusion, public blame, and a complete lack of accountability. Responsibility is never taken; mistakes are always attributed to others.
The situation is made even more uncomfortable by the CEO’s background in a security organization. This has led to widespread rumors and paranoia inside the office, including people genuinely believing that conversations are being monitored or listened to. Whether true or not, the fact that employees feel this way speaks volumes about the level of fear and distrust in the workplace.
Overall, it is a deeply unhealthy environment that drives away good people despite their strong motivation and abilities.