Book+Street was founded when two Venture Capitalists fell in love with startup money. One of them? The owner — a control freak who had to be right about everything, even in areas she had no expertise in, like app development and system security. The other? A short-tempered, vulgar individual who thrived on micromanagement, name-calling, and trash-talking clients and former employees alike. Both shared a passion for gossip, lawyers, and belittling others.
On my first day, I received a welcome gift: a copy of The No A**hole Rule. Ironic.
My position was one of few roles that was ineligible for remote work. That meant showing up to a nearly empty office every Friday while others enjoyed flexibility — even though the majority of communication, including with my supervisor in the next cubicle, happened over Zoom regardless.
Meaningful interaction with leadership was rare. Conversations were difficult to have when office doors stayed closed and client demands always came before employee well-being. And yet, these were the same clients who were mocked the moment the call ended. I remember frequently hearing:
“It’s a good thing they have us around.” I feel like it says something about you and your brand if you seem to be attracting incompetent people and companies.
Toward employees? Here are a few REAL things I heard said aloud in the office:
“It’s a good thing you have a pretty face.”
“You make people feel stupid.”
“Oh, you wore THAT to work? Interesting.”
These weren’t isolated incidents. More inappropriate and invasive remarks were common — often behind closed doors or in one-on-one conversations.
I was let go a week after meeting with HR to raise concerns — not about individuals, but about company practices. The stated reason? “Not the right fit.” In the weeks that followed, four other employees were also terminated — some for “poor performance,” others without explanation. None were poor performers. My theory? The company is bleeding money and quietly downsizing.
Working at Book+Street may be a good fit if you:
-Enjoy being micromanaged
-Love working a strict 9–5 schedule with no flexibility
-Don’t mind a mandatory 1-hour lunch making your day 9 hours
-Don’t expect competitive pay
-Prefer public humiliation over private feedback
-Enjoy adhering to hundreds of arbitrary handbook rules
-Relish in monitoring your coworkers
-Use dozens of systems and repeat work frequently
