I applied through a recruiter. I interviewed at Valid8 Financial (Seattle, WA) in Oct 2025
Interview
The Good:
The company has a strong product and a clear market opportunity. The individuals I met were generally nice and professional on a 1-to-1 basis.
The Bad:
The hiring process is a mess of disorganization. In addition to regular calls, texts, and emails from the recruiter, I went through seven formal rounds (recruiter, sr recruiter, VP, sr. advisor, sales exec, CEO and founder) including two onsite visits. After all the interviews, it was affirmed that they "loved me." I was told a decision was imminent, with strong hints of an incoming offer. This was followed by a long silence, only to be told again that they loved me but wanted to keep shopping for other candidates as a "best practice"—simply because they had only interviewed one person: me.
Communication from the recruiter was prompt and professional, but I later learned the company really wasn't telling her anything, so she had to fill in the gaps. For the first onsite, I was sent to the company’s mail drop address rather than the office and had to scramble to find their "secret" location. When I finally told the CEO and Recruiter that the process had become excessive and I would withdraw if it continued to drag, both promised a follow-up that never came.
Advice to Management:
Being first to market is critical, but these unforced errors will prevent you from being successful. There is no common understanding of the hiring process or even the roles being filled, not to mention that you should just treat people better. You will quickly be overtaken by more agile competitors if you continue to operate this way.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
"I didn't know we were hiring for this role, can you fill me in?"
Seriously.