My first three interviews with the company were excellent. The initial screen was natural and conversational, giving me a sense of whether we could work well together. The second interview was a deeper dive, experience-based, scenario-driven, and very constructive. The third round, with the person who would have been my manager, was one of the best interviews I’ve ever had. She was thoughtful, transparent, and incredibly relatable, leaving me genuinely excited about the opportunity. The final stage was initially positioned as a culture-fit conversation with one of the founders, but was later changed to another experience based interview. From the start, the interview took an unexpected turn. Instead of sharing insights about himself, the company, or the culture, the founder launched into a series of rapid-fire questions, many of which I had already addressed in earlier rounds. There was little opportunity for dialogue, I was interrupted multiple times before I could finish my answers, and it was clear he was disengaged. The interaction felt more like an interrogation than a conversation about alignment, values, or experience. Shortly afterward, I was declined without feedback, despite requesting it. While I had been very excited about the prospect of joining, in hindsight I’m grateful, it became clear that this was not the kind of leadership or culture I’d want to work under.