Coursera

I love most of the people at Coursera. They're really quirky, fun, and wicked smart to work with.

In the early days, it's also really satisfying to work in a company that provides free education. The benefits are really great too.

A small gym, free food, and proximity to Mountain View

Castro makes it even better.

The mission to provide education to the world is amazing, although it's a bit sad to see that it's not a non-profit and leaning towards money, money, money these days.

The business model has been a struggling issue since the beginning of the company. This is mostly due to conflicting goals of providing free education and making tons of money.

There is a strong clique of ivies, so if you're not one of them, you're an outsider. Politics is rampant.

Watch out for groups with huge turnover rates. Just Google search for "24 tech companies losing talent at an astonishing rate" and you'll see. Many original people left in disgust and went for other tier-1 companies nearby, which have more mature managers, much better compensation, and more interesting work.

We've already burned through two co-founders and an outside CEO, and it's clear that academics do not make good managers. When people problems arise, these academics are reluctant to step in (e.g., "this is below my level" syndrome).

Middle management is young, immature, incapable, and often times rude. They're promoted because they used to know the professors who founded Coursera.

The best advice is to provide manager training, remove leaders who are there thanks to nepotism, and fire jerks ASAP.

As they say, if you can't beat them, join them. Tons of wonderful people left, so maybe it's not a bad idea to cut your losses and leave too.