TL; DR, the most concerning issue at Disco is not the lack of talent at the individual level, but rather the absence of capable and accountable leadership and strategic foresight, particularly on the executive team. Major risks, such as investors pivoting from partner to direct competitor or key vendors being acquired, were either not identified early or not acted on with seriousness. What remains is a company marked by missed opportunities, high attrition, and a shrinking competitive moat.
• Leadership Failures: Repeated missteps at the executive level, like doubling down on costly low-ROI internal projects and rehiring only to restructure again a year later, reflect poor judgment on the executive team, not poor talent as some have mentioned. C-suite execs are quick to cut entire teams without course correction, even when those teams are high-performing.
• Instability & Blame Culture: Company performance issues and unfavorable market conditions trigger layoffs, not reflection. Firings often feel arbitrary and reactive, creating a culture where accountability flows down, not up. Frequent turnover means the company reinvents itself every year, losing continuity and trust. Unless you are close to the executives, any employee outside of the C-suite is disposable if the numbers do not work out.
• Lack of Direction: There are no longer experienced leaders in core parts of the business (product, design, tech, etc.) which makes it difficult to coordinate and prioritize customers with a sense of urgency. Decision-making is centralized in the hands of executives who are out of their depth, which leads to misaligned priorities and a lack of innovation (copying competitors we used to joke about!). Customer needs are often deprioritized unless they align with executive agendas. The company has not been truly focused on the customer since before I joined. Instead, we are putting up smoke and mirrors trying to keep the ship afloat with rather reactive tactics and brittle partnerships.
• Uneven Investment Across Teams: The company is run like a dealership, very heavy on sales while trying to maintain our brand inventory. Unsurprisingly, Sales and Customer Success (where the executive team has backgrounds) are relatively well-resourced and regularly see raises and bonuses. All other functions: product, design, engineering, marketing, and business, see the opposite.
• Leadership Transparency (of the wrong kind): There was at least one all-hands where a C-suite exec candidly admitted that they weren't doing any work, yet has the power to cut entire teams who contribute greatly to the bottom line. It’s hard to imagine anyone outside the executive team being allowed to say such a thing without consequences.
