Pros
Some people are really smart, ambitious and just fun to be around. The offsites are intense and you are very much expected to attend and be grateful for it, but they are also fun.
Cons
The leadership are lacking in is empathy and respect for their staff. There is a sense of entitlement that some (not all) of the leadership team give off, as they believe that it is a privilege to work with them. Turning up late to or cancelling interviews last minute is one way that is reflected. One member of the SLT had even asked to see Glassdoor reviews in order to laugh at any that criticised him. Which shows how seriously they take employee opinions... In another example, the same member of the leadership team joined a call and opened with the sentence "one of the advantages of being the CXO is that I can do whatever the (insert expletive) I want." I will just leave that there for you to think about how professional that is. From a People team perspective, those leading such a function have little by way of people skills, and focus purely on what is best for the business from a monetary perspective. A very short termist approach, which is fine for some. But when the whole team of 5 leaves within a year of each other, either because they are no longer deemed necessary or because they can't stand it anymore, it makes sense for the business to look at the cause of such high turnover and save money by keeping good people. Again, being a start up is not an excuse here.