FullStory was a place that I saw as home. My coworkers were family. I looked up to the brilliant minds I got to spend my days with. We strove to be irrationally lovable. We made thoughtful and impactful software decisions as a group with a level of rigor and a lack of ego I’ve never ever seen before.
As the company grew, the flat structure fell apart. Convoluted reporting structures took hold. More and more hires were made without input from teams. What once was a tight knit family was more and more being torn apart by aggressive corporate ladder climbers. People who’s sole purpose was the help the bottom line.
This is where FullStory sold their soul. In pursuance of massive growth, the company lost its way. One of the founders was cast out suddenly and unexpectedly. He was the soul of the product. The thoughtfulness of every decision we made because of his leadership was at times maddening but was always in service of making a more perfect web. Massive layoffs claimed several incredibly smart people. Entire departments were cast out. They said the cuts were deliberate and deep and painful. But suddenly job listings started to appear for positions that were just cut. Perhaps to find folks that had less of a point of view? Perhaps to find more order-followers? People that didn’t want to question the status quo?
The department leaders continue to be unrelenting micro-managers. What once was a place where autonomy was praised was quickly replaced by a structure where the whims of sales guided every decision and the leadership falls in lock-step with little pushback. It was almost impossible to know who the actual stakeholders were for any given assignment. What once was a vibrant brand is being dulled, relegated to the pile of also-ran analytics platforms. The lack of trust among leadership is palpable.
