Sitting on stage end week by the side of a San Francisco union, Greg Duffy, the 28-year-old co-founder and president of Dropcam, which makes Internet-connected cartridge cameras, fielded questions from an audience of startup founders. It be supposed to arrange been a point in time to celebrate. When all, end June, Duffy sold Dropcam to Nest Labs instead of $555 million. At the same time as the panel dialogue came to a close, however, Duffy sounded an ominous remark. Referring to a longtime colleague who was sharing the stage with him, he told the invite-only crowd so as to Liz Hamren is “the top VP of marketing fashionable the small business.” He subsequently added, laughing, “She’s and my earlier VP of marketing. You can read from so as to pardon? You would like into my current position.”
Duffy insists so as to everything is “great” by the side of Nest, but a superficial look by the side of employee reviews by the side of the jobs put Glassdoor tells a dissimilar story. Despite the verity so as to longtime Apple executive and Nest co-founder and president Tony Fadell has traditional shake star conduct from many journalists (Fast Company dubbed him the “$3.2 Billion Man” instead of the amount Google paid instead of Nest this ancient times January; others arrange wondered if he is the after that Steve Jobs), he has traditional no more than a 46 percent sanction rating across 26 reviews. By contrast, Duffy, who was Dropcam’s president until the union, shows a 100 percent sanction rating across six reviews.
Round about of these Glassdoor reviews call so as to Nest is “killing everything so as to was special with reference to working by the side of Dropcam” and so as to “everything we built is being not carefully dismantled when [the] acquisition.” single assessment states, “Everything revolves around the president. It’s a hazardous mix of cult of personality and Stockholm syndrome. Interpretation like ‘He’s the after that Steve Jobs’ are not uncommon, while colonize proudly say things like ‘I’m used to Tony screaming by the side of me.’ each person dreads meetings with Tony as he spirit flip if he doesn’t like pardon? He sees. Come what may that’s perceived at the same time as advantageous leadership.”
Sources who spoke to StrictlyVC and asked to hang about unidentified say Fadell has fashioned a hierarchical formation reminiscent of TV’s “Game of Thrones.”
According to single employee, “Almost each decision, nix theme how trivial,” goes through either Fadell before Matt Rogers, who cofounded Nest with Fadell and was previously a senior supervisor by the side of Apple. (Through a representative, Fadell and Rogers declined to answer questions instead of this story.)
“It’s constantly, ‘Tony and Matt would like us to prepare this. We arrange to smack this deadline as Tony and Matt would like us to.’ You without doubt realize colonize taking the path of smallest amount resistance as they don’t would like to upset Tony.”
A new employee calls it a “huge convention culture, to the direct anywhere anybody by the side of the director level before up spends their total date fashionable meetings, many of them duplicative meetings with reference to the same branch of learning, above and above to the direct anywhere a slice of colonize arrange complained.”
Imminent from Dropcam, which boasted a much additional equal culture, a clash seems all but inevitable.
Yet these employees and advocate so as to the differences sandwiched between Dropcam and Nest are not perfectly stylistic. Single Nest employee says so as to Nest, which employs sandwiched between 700 and 800 colonize, spirit realize roughly twofold the revenue of Dropcam this time but so as to Dropcam, which employs 100 colonize, is growing its revenue eight time at the same time as fast, recognition largely to its subscription small business.
Many employees were apparently disappointed to persuade somebody to buy to Google as “we were firing on all cylinders, with a sensor upshot with reference to to be located released and an al fresco camera with reference to to stretch given away fashionable 2015 and illustrious sales. It perfectly felt like we’d been chopped inedible by the side of the knees.”
Says single insider, in a jiffy by the side of Nest, “There had been rumors earlier fashionable the summer so as to Google was up for grabs to make a purchase of Dropcam, so we had an inkling so as to something was incident. But as soon as the founders decisively called the organization collected to announce so as to we’d been acquired by Nest, nearby was down silence fashionable the area. You possibly will arrange heard a pin globule.”
Nix wonder Dropcam investor and earlier board organ feature Siegel sounds not as much of than elated as soon as asked with reference to the company’s retailing to Nest. “I think nearby was a illustrious autonomous company to be located built, and I wasn’t shy with reference to indicative so as to to these guys,” he says of Duffy and his cofounder, Aamir Virani.
Siegel, a longtime running director by the side of Menlo Ventures, says Dropcam was on a “terrific ramp” as soon as it was acquired. Its Wi-Fi cameras were decisively being sold via both Amazon and Apple, and the company was fashionable first negotiations with top obtain. Morever, “We were with reference to to launch fashionable a bunch additional retail locations,” he says.
“There was quite so as to had to be located built,” he annotations. “But it’s very rare so as to you acquire the kind of consumer be keen on instead of a upshot so as to you realize with Dropcam. Even as soon as we had round about bumps fashionable the road – like problems with the contract manufacturer first on—it didn’t affect consumer ratings, as the upshot was so advantageous.”
“There were round about concerns with reference to pardon? It doomed to be located an autonomous, trivial company up for grabs up critical of a Google/Nest,” observes Siegel. “That’s dutiful of in the least [situation like this]. The real question is, ‘Was [competing openly with Dropcam] Nest’s priority?’ in a jiffy, maybe from the inside looking given away, you can ask Greg if so as to was an extravagant worry about.”
To round about of the employees we talked to, Nest’s priority seems to be located separating itself from Google, not rolling given away pristine products. By the side of a union fashionable Dublin, Fadell was asked with reference to the cultural differences sandwiched between Apple and Google. Painting a picture so as to sounds like Nest in our day, he assumed so as to from its most primitive days, Apple had a “much additional hierarchical formation, and the communications formation was very understood,” while by the side of Google, “everyone possibly will perfectly consult to each person and become skilled at with reference to everything, and nearby was much additional transparency.”
“I’m not proverb single is better than the other,” Fadell continued, “but it’s very dissimilar. The very formerly date, as soon as the [Nest] deal was announced, I got all these various persons from inside Google proverb, ‘Oh, congratulations,’ and ‘I would like to toil with you,’ and ‘Is nearby something we can help you with?’ And by the side of Apple, it was very structured. It wasn’t like you were up for grabs to send off a message to Steve [Jobs] instead of in the least sanity and say congratulations and flood his email box.”
Asked with reference to Dropcam’s union with Nest when his stage presentation end week, Duffy was quick to express Dropcam’s integration with Nest at the same time as “very clear-cut. Aamir and I squander a slice of point in time with Tony and Matt” and “there’s a slice of mutual respect.”
Unfortunately, Duffy respectfully declined to answer in the least promote questions. “Google document,” he explained.
Subsequently he made his way to a clutch of founders who hoped they might catch a the minority additional minutes of his point in time.
Tag : Dropcam , Duffy
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