As a former Patreon team member, he has done an incredible job of attracting creator-focused team members -- one of the most mission oriented groups I've ever been a part of.
Don't mistake that for being a good CEO. He gives deep-felt apologies every time he does layoffs... which he does frequently. Often because he just doesn't like what people are doing. He also frequently communicates with the public in a more heart-felt manner than he does his own employees. He's great at putting out a great face.
- 2019, September layoffs (can't find the links for these ones)
- 2019, June layoffs
- 2018, June layoffs
Also, to be clear. I was not one of the ones laid off. But I did see my entire team besides my manager vanish one day and then be told I'm expected to do the team's work for the next 6 months.
Yeah, I'd imagine in many respects he's unqualified to be a good CEO since he, as far as I can tell, essentially stumbled sideways into the role as co-founder. There's the upside of the CEO being a creator themselves but the downside of not having a background in business or necessarily the other qualities a good leader possesses.
Patreon has a great mission though and I can see how it would attract creator-focused team members. There are some impressive Patreon alumni in their own right.
Don't mistake that for being a good CEO. He gives deep-felt apologies every time he does layoffs... which he does frequently. Often because he just doesn't like what people are doing. He also frequently communicates with the public in a more heart-felt manner than he does his own employees. He's great at putting out a great face.
- 5 days ago - Security Team - https://techcrunch.com/2022/09/09/patreon-security-layoffs/
- 2021 - https://www.protocol.com/bulletins/patreon-lays-off-36-emplo...
- 2020 - https://techcrunch.com/2020/04/21/patreon-lays-off-13-of-wor...
- 2019, September layoffs (can't find the links for these ones)
- 2019, June layoffs
- 2018, June layoffs
Also, to be clear. I was not one of the ones laid off. But I did see my entire team besides my manager vanish one day and then be told I'm expected to do the team's work for the next 6 months.