SoundCloud cuts jobs, closes SF and London offices
I was a director of an engineering department for SoundCloud for a time and left several years ago. Frankly none of this should be surprising: nobody there could figure out a product definition nor a monetization plan. What is more: the engineering organization at SoundCloud at large was completely fractured and suffered from in-fighting. Nobody trusted anyone across organizations. There was no shortage of bullying even. Taking that in mind, SoundCloud&#x27;s downfall was to be expected. Because of caustic environment even before the financial crunch, they couldn&#x27;t execute. Blame the incestuous Brazilian boys club there for it (I&#x27;m male, by the way); they bullied just about everyone.<p>As for Berlin, I am sorry to say: I had high-hopes for the tech culture there, but to call it Mickey Mouse would be a charitable statement. It was laden with confused hipsters who couldn&#x27;t differentiate between language du jour and its monads and delivering a product.<p>When I applied, the warning signs were strong. Nevertheless I ignored them — to my own peril. Needless to say, I won&#x27;t make those mistakes again!<p>Right before I resigned, it was revealed in a private leads meeting that 18 percent of the engineering force had resigned in that given quarter.  Was I surprised?  Not in the slightest. That knowledge gave me resolve to get out, which I hadn&#x27;t yet announced.