As a Googler I was approached by Amazon, and when I started to look at the culture, a photo came out with Jeff Bezos using a door because he was too ,,frugal’’ to buy a desk… I would never join an office where people are proud of that.
> Brin and Page filled the garage with desks made of old pine doors set on sawhorses, a turquoise shag carpet, and a Ping-Pong table.
https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2014/04/sergey-brin-amanda-...
I feel like the OP was being a little too drastic, there are many reasons to dislike Amazon but one being that Bezos used a door as a table is a little out there.
https://www.growthink.com/content/story-jeff-bezos-250000-in...
Either way the door desk is an interesting piece of tech history.
The problem is that what makes that sacrifice potentially worth it at an early-stage startup is the potential for equity before hypergrowth. Amazon has virtually no chance of startup-like hypergrowth anymore; recently its stock has even started declining. So employees are being asked to provide outsized sacrifice for declining returns. Predictably, massive resignation and retention problems are the result.
BTW, a frugal startup is better any day than a startup that blows up all its cash on unimportant activities and subsequently closes shop.
I think it's well-known that Amazon doesn't provide in-house meals and haircuts and kombucha like many of the SV companies. Personally it's something I appreciate because it makes the area around the office a bit more lively with more foot traffic and private businesses catering to the office workers.
I love Amazon as a customer though