ShipperHQ Reviews

From the start, my experience at ShipperHQ was so absurd that it is difficult to describe in a way that sounds remotely believable. Within minutes of my first and only interview with the CEO, Jo, she began disparaging an individual who was supposed to be my direct manager. By the end of that same meeting, she decided to create a new role for me, placed me at the same level as this person, and immediately tried to pit us against each other. For the first month, Jo built me up and praised my work. I completed and delivered strategic recommendations early, and she initially reviewed them positively. Two weeks later, those same documents were suddenly the worst things she had ever read. The praise evaporated and was replaced by constant criticism and contentious conversations. From there, my work devolved into an endless train wreck. I would begin executing on an approved project, only to have her upend the direction days later. She dismissed progress as nonexistent, when in reality I was forced to abandon work repeatedly to keep pace with her whims. When I delivered exactly what she asked for, she would then declare it was not what she wanted. My team and I were regularly berated for outcomes that stemmed directly from her erratic compulsions. The most disorienting part was her gaslighting. She pretended her shifts in direction and contradictions never happened and insisted that the disorder was my fault. By month two, Jo’s aggression toward me intensified and nothing seemed to de-escalate her. Apologies fueled her fire, seeking clarification about her ever-changing demands made her angrier, presenting evidence drew only childish insults. Every approach led to more hostility. She insisted I had no idea what I was doing and claimed she could do my job exponentially better and faster, yet her critiques consistently betrayed a shallow grasp of the subject matter and little to no knowledge of widely recognized standards and best practices in this area of work. These attacks felt intentional, and they coincided with her failure to honor a six-week pay increase that was written into my offer letter after I delivered the agreed recommendation documents. Jo’s behavior toward others was equally corrosive. I saw her lash out at coworkers again and again, breaking them down with scorn and humiliation. It became clear that constant degradation of employees by Jo was the norm at ShipperHQ. She also made offensive remarks about a few individuals, claiming they were on the autism spectrum or had Asperger’s syndrome, and pressured others to agree. The sheer abnormality of Jo’s actions in a professional setting left me trying to piece together an explanation. In private conversations, coworkers and former employees offered theories. Some cited chronic insomnia and extreme stress. Others wondered about alcohol abuse, long-standing patterns of unchecked power, personality disorders, or untreated mental health problems. A few framed it as a deliberate control strategy, a playbook of psychological manipulation and demoralization. Everyone seemed to agree she was getting worse, but ultimately I couldn’t verify if any of these explanations were valid. I still do not know why Jo behaves this way, and I may never know. What I do know is that my experience is not an isolated incident. This is Jo’s pattern of behavior: impulsive shifts in direction that create disorder, followed by turning that confusion against others and accusing them of failing at their jobs. The disorder is hers alone, yet the consequences fall on everyone else. It is a playbook she has likely been using for years. The result is not growth or progress but a culture of turmoil and fear that leaves people burned out and broken.

Before I joined ShipperHQ, I assumed the negative Glassdoor reviews were exaggerated accounts from a handful of dissatisfied employees. I quickly learned they were not only accurate but understated. Instability was the daily reality, and its source was singular: Jo, the CEO, founder and sole authority. She was brash, unpredictable, erratic, and frequently demeaning. Decisions were made rashly, often based on fleeting impulses, and then reversed without acknowledgment. Logic, structure, and follow-through were absent. Employees were left scrambling to adapt to directives that were routinely forgotten, contradicted, or ignored. Most concerning was Jo’s conviction that she was an expert in all areas of the business. In my experience, her understanding of many core functions was below average and, at times, entirely ignorant and uninformed. It often felt as though Jo intentionally obstructed employees from completing their work as a form of control. Rationally, I understood this could not be true, since she owned the company, yet her behavior consistently created that impression. No competent leader would construct such barriers to productivity. The more likely explanation was her complete lack of self-awareness. What she perceived as helpful involvement was, in practice, interference. Surrounded by “yes-people” unwilling to challenge her, she appeared incapable of viewing herself with objectivity. No employee was safe. Even if Jo treated someone with surface-level respect initially, it was only a matter of time before they became her target. She could shift from casual and joking to aggressive and confrontational within seconds, sometimes even threatening people’s jobs in front of others. I repeatedly witnessed her yell, curse, and speak in ways that were not only unprofessional but outright degrading. When employees sought clarification on her vague or contradictory directives, she often responded with rude, dismissive remarks instead of guidance. There was no value in reminding Jo of prior instructions, pointing out contradictions, or producing evidence from her own Slack messages. Any attempt to prove her wrong backfired. The more one pressed, the more combative she became. Working under her leadership meant abandoning the expectation that logic, evidence, or reason would ever prevail. Her word in the moment was final, even when it directly opposed what she demanded the day before. After multiple failed attempts to engage Jo in rational discussions about her contradictory directives, some of which turned hostile, it became clear to me that producing meaningful work at ShipperHQ was no longer possible. My role devolved into mere survival until I could secure another job.