I like to partition companies with products that gain traction into two groups. In the first group are technically mediodcre founders who cobbled together a product that's almost unmaintainable. The second group consists of relatively experienced founders who cobbled together a product that's maintainable.

The two groups use distinct interview styles. Since the group with nearly unmaintainable code has many more members than the latter we see their interview style far more often. This is the familiar all-day brain teaser and relentless quizzing interview style. This interview style makes sense for these companies because they need warm bodies to throw at legacy codebases. The quality to seek in employees is perseverance and obedience. And this familiar interview style tests for just that.

The second group of companies uses the more thoughtful interview style. The founders value insight, creativity, and experience more than obedience. Hence their interview style focuses on these qualities.