Pros
The most redeeming aspect of ShipperHQ is its people. My colleagues are talented and grounded, often stepping in to help each other weather the chaos created by the CEO.
Cons
From the start, my experience at ShipperHQ was so absurd that it is difficult to describe in a way that sounds remotely believable. Within minutes of my first and only interview with the CEO, Jo, she began disparaging an individual who was supposed to be my direct manager. By the end of that same meeting, she decided to create a new role for me, placed me at the same level as this person, and immediately tried to pit us against each other.
For the first month, Jo built me up and praised my work. I completed and delivered strategic recommendations early, and she initially reviewed them positively. Two weeks later, those same documents were suddenly the worst things she had ever read. The praise evaporated and was replaced by constant criticism and contentious conversations. From there, my work devolved into an endless train wreck. I would begin executing on an approved project, only to have her upend the direction days later. She dismissed progress as nonexistent, when in reality I was forced to abandon work repeatedly to keep pace with her whims. When I delivered exactly what she asked for, she would then declare it was not what she wanted. My team and I were regularly berated for outcomes that stemmed directly from her erratic compulsions. The most disorienting part was her gaslighting. She pretended her shifts in direction and contradictions never happened and insisted that the disorder was my fault.
By month two, Jo’s aggression toward me intensified and nothing seemed to de-escalate her. Apologies fueled her fire, seeking clarification about her ever-changing demands made her angrier, presenting evidence drew only childish insults. Every approach led to more hostility. She insisted I had no idea what I was doing and claimed she could do my job exponentially better and faster, yet her critiques consistently betrayed a shallow grasp of the subject matter and little to no knowledge of widely recognized standards and best practices in this area of work. These attacks felt intentional, and they coincided with her failure to honor a six-week pay increase that was written into my offer letter after I delivered the agreed recommendation documents.
Jo’s behavior toward others was equally corrosive. I saw her lash out at coworkers again and again, breaking them down with scorn and humiliation. It became clear that constant degradation of employees by Jo was the norm at ShipperHQ. She also made offensive remarks about a few individuals, claiming they were on the autism spectrum or had Asperger’s syndrome, and pressured others to agree.
The sheer abnormality of Jo’s actions in a professional setting left me trying to piece together an explanation. In private conversations, coworkers and former employees offered theories. Some cited chronic insomnia and extreme stress. Others wondered about alcohol abuse, long-standing patterns of unchecked power, personality disorders, or untreated mental health problems. A few framed it as a deliberate control strategy, a playbook of psychological manipulation and demoralization. Everyone seemed to agree she was getting worse, but ultimately I couldn’t verify if any of these explanations were valid.
I still do not know why Jo behaves this way, and I may never know. What I do know is that my experience is not an isolated incident. This is Jo’s pattern of behavior: impulsive shifts in direction that create disorder, followed by turning that confusion against others and accusing them of failing at their jobs. The disorder is hers alone, yet the consequences fall on everyone else. It is a playbook she has likely been using for years. The result is not growth or progress but a culture of turmoil and fear that leaves people burned out and broken.