Ozy insiders describe burnout and doubts about metrics at the scandal-ridden media company

Ozy Media announced it's shutting down after a New York Times report shed light on its business practices.

Founded in 2013, Ozy had raised $83 million as of 2020 from well-known names like Marc Lasry, Laurene Powell Jobs, and Ron Conway. Insider owner Axel Springer is also a backer.

Its rapid unraveling wasn't a surprise to current and former employees, who expressed doubts about the company and described a breakneck workplace culture.

For years, Ozy alumni told Insider, Chief Executive Officer Carlos Watson and fellow cofounder Samir Rao cultivated an aggressive focus on winning and a culture built upon a Silicon Valley start-up ethos rather than a journalistic one.

Employees were expected to be at their desks and available around the clock after hours, churn out content, and work 80-hour weeks.

While Ozy publicly touted impressive viewership numbers, staffers inside the company expressed skepticism the true size of their audience.

Subscribe to read the full story: 18 current and former Ozy employees say there've been widespread internal doubts about the company's stated audience, 80-hour work weeks, and a 'cult of Carlos'