April Koh is the youngest woman running a multibillion-dollar startup.
@thisisinsider talked to 31 people close to the company, including former and current employees. Insiders say Koh’s inexperience and some missteps led employees to quit. 👇
They recall Koh in small-group meetings disparaging employees who quit; lashing out at a staffer privately for creating a lackluster booth at a client's office during onboarding; and dressing down a recruiter before dismissing her in the office.
One of the company’s stated values is "move fast." The takeaway, said a former employee, was that a failure to move fast was "jeopardizing" their customers' mental health.
Meanwhile, employees clocked 60 to 70 hours a week.
Tensions were mounting by summer as people started returning to the office, sources said. Numerous employees said turnover started to get brought up in the company-wide "all-hands" meetings.
To be sure, burnout isn't a danger specific to Spring Health, or even to startups. Many more companies have wrestled with turnover through the "Great Resignation," the pandemic-era trend of employees leaving their jobs.
But former employees of Spring Health said it took departures for Koh to create meaningful change.
In August, the executive team introduced initiatives meant to reduce burnout, according to memos seen by Insider. And in October, Koh owned up to burnout.
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