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Jason is a bully. I've heard plenty of horror stories of people who have worked for him. I'm not surprised in the least and I'm extremely glad to see people sta

Jason is a bully. I've heard plenty of horror stories of people who have worked for him. I'm not surprised in the least and I'm extremely glad to see people standing up to him.

foobarqux 11y ago
Care to share any specific ones?
- hoodoof 11y ago
  In fact such statements deserve specific details or shutting up. Either way it's potentially slanderous.
  - carlisle_ 11y ago
    I can't reply to your other comment as its nested too deeply, but I'm not posting to earn your respect. If you don't believe me that's fine, but equivocating anonymity with trolling is a strawman if I've ever seen one.
- carlisle_ 11y ago
  I'm specifically thinking of an incident where he yelled at a dev until she cried in the middle of the open office at Mahalo.
  - hoodoof 11y ago
    I'd respect you sniping at people more if you did it whilst showing your true identity at the same time. If you're going to attack online from a hidden identity then that's just trolling.
    - jasonmcalacanis 11y ago
      +1
vogt 11y ago
Just for what it's worth, as I know it isn't the same as working for someone - I interviewed for a position working directly for Jason and he was all class. I'm a designer and part of the interview process, as is often the case, was to complete a small design project. He flat out insisted on paying me for my time (nobody else in my career has ever even offered) and wouldn't take no for an answer, and was professional and courteous during both the interview and his eventual decline to hire me.
- aidenn0 11y ago
  That might make sense; strongarm negotiating doesn't necessarily mean you treat everyone like crap, but when there is more VC money than there are companies to invest in might cause you to lose out on deals.
  - vogt 11y ago
    Like I said, it was just my 2 cents for what they are worth here when Jason is being called a bully to people. I don't expect my experience to be analogous in the VC world or anything.
    - aidenn0 11y ago
      And it's interesting because the difference between "valid negotiating tactic" and "being an asshole" is so context dependent. There are plenty of situations where flat out lying is not just acceptable, but expected as a bargaining tactic, along with other behavior that would be unacceptable in other situations. Just thinking about the different ways I buy things at flea markets, the grocery store, and an auto dealership shows 3 very different behaviors.
- nikcub 11y ago
  and i'll give a counterexample - Jason yelling down and belittling an entrepreneur and his team during prep for a conference presentation, for a totally unrelated reason and then cancelling their appearance because he was mad at something else. I have never seen anything like it. Assholes are manipulative, it's how they get away with it. The problem is silicon valley is self-reinforcing with positive feedback, nobody rocks the boat and speaks ill (the subject of Jason's abuse above would never come out and say it) of others. It is 100x harder to give a negative public view of someone than it is to give a positive. Investors have more power than most of your employees and they will freely speak about you, associate with you in good times, many will run away in bad. You should run extensive due diligence across all of them, and with people who worked with them - not the type of Silicon Valley 'good friends' that involve spending 5 minutes in a conference hallway with someone 3 times a year, or having dinner twice a year.
adamdill 11y ago
I worked directly for Jason for about 3 years, as a direct report. I never once saw him bully anyone. He expects and pushes people to be their best. Additionally he doesn't allow people to waste his time, or the time of others in his organizations. Both of these are admirable qualities. Additionally after I left his employ, he was our first investor in a new venture, and relentlessly supported us along the way. Jason is the best possible investor you can have on your side.
- LifeAfterCubes 11y ago
  I also worked directly for Jason for nearly 3 years and have nearly an identical story as Adam. The entire Launch organization was built around Jason giving back to founders. All of his actions during my time working for him reflected this mission.
  - jasonmcalacanis 11y ago
    It was a pleasure to watch you grow into an awesome CEO yourself!
ricfulop 11y ago
Have you actually worked with him? I have for many years and he has been one of the most founder friendly and dedicated people I've ever met!

Jason is a bully. I've heard plenty of horror stories of people who have worked for him. I'm not surprised in the least and I'm extremely glad to see people standing up to him.

foobarqux 11y ago

Care to share any specific ones?

hoodoof 11y ago
In fact such statements deserve specific details or shutting up. Either way it's potentially slanderous.
- carlisle_ 11y ago
  I can't reply to your other comment as its nested too deeply, but I'm not posting to earn your respect. If you don't believe me that's fine, but equivocating anonymity with trolling is a strawman if I've ever seen one.
carlisle_ 11y ago
I'm specifically thinking of an incident where he yelled at a dev until she cried in the middle of the open office at Mahalo.
- hoodoof 11y ago
  I'd respect you sniping at people more if you did it whilst showing your true identity at the same time. If you're going to attack online from a hidden identity then that's just trolling.
  - jasonmcalacanis 11y ago
    +1

vogt 11y ago

Just for what it's worth, as I know it isn't the same as working for someone - I interviewed for a position working directly for Jason and he was all class. I'm a designer and part of the interview process, as is often the case, was to complete a small design project. He flat out insisted on paying me for my time (nobody else in my career has ever even offered) and wouldn't take no for an answer, and was professional and courteous during both the interview and his eventual decline to hire me.

aidenn0 11y ago
That might make sense; strongarm negotiating doesn't necessarily mean you treat everyone like crap, but when there is more VC money than there are companies to invest in might cause you to lose out on deals.
- vogt 11y ago
  Like I said, it was just my 2 cents for what they are worth here when Jason is being called a bully to people. I don't expect my experience to be analogous in the VC world or anything.
  - aidenn0 11y ago
    And it's interesting because the difference between "valid negotiating tactic" and "being an asshole" is so context dependent. There are plenty of situations where flat out lying is not just acceptable, but expected as a bargaining tactic, along with other behavior that would be unacceptable in other situations. Just thinking about the different ways I buy things at flea markets, the grocery store, and an auto dealership shows 3 very different behaviors.
nikcub 11y ago
and i'll give a counterexample - Jason yelling down and belittling an entrepreneur and his team during prep for a conference presentation, for a totally unrelated reason and then cancelling their appearance because he was mad at something else. I have never seen anything like it. Assholes are manipulative, it's how they get away with it. The problem is silicon valley is self-reinforcing with positive feedback, nobody rocks the boat and speaks ill (the subject of Jason's abuse above would never come out and say it) of others. It is 100x harder to give a negative public view of someone than it is to give a positive. Investors have more power than most of your employees and they will freely speak about you, associate with you in good times, many will run away in bad. You should run extensive due diligence across all of them, and with people who worked with them - not the type of Silicon Valley 'good friends' that involve spending 5 minutes in a conference hallway with someone 3 times a year, or having dinner twice a year.

adamdill 11y ago

I worked directly for Jason for about 3 years, as a direct report. I never once saw him bully anyone. He expects and pushes people to be their best. Additionally he doesn't allow people to waste his time, or the time of others in his organizations. Both of these are admirable qualities. Additionally after I left his employ, he was our first investor in a new venture, and relentlessly supported us along the way. Jason is the best possible investor you can have on your side.

LifeAfterCubes 11y ago
I also worked directly for Jason for nearly 3 years and have nearly an identical story as Adam. The entire Launch organization was built around Jason giving back to founders. All of his actions during my time working for him reflected this mission.
- jasonmcalacanis 11y ago
  It was a pleasure to watch you grow into an awesome CEO yourself!

ricfulop 11y ago

Have you actually worked with him? I have for many years and he has been one of the most founder friendly and dedicated people I've ever met!