I suspect the make up of this company is going to be the most extreme of extreme mono cultures.
The ‘what marks did you get in high school mathematics’ alone as a screening question (apparently an auto rejection if it’s not top 10%) and the ceo interviewing everyone personally gives a vibe of ‘you must have walked a very similar path in life as the boss to work here.’
Like there doesn’t seem to be any room to be the slightest bit outside of the lane of the ceos personal expectations. What the hell is this company like on the inside? A clone factory i assume?
Not necessarily, I would assume it's more of a 'yes man' mentality where you have to agree with everything the boss say (even when you didn't understand it lol).
Giving different opinion, counter argument, ... All the stuff that allows to make an educated guess and eventually take good decision is a big No-No.
The equivalent of fascism but in a company.
Usually the one who reach the top are those who suck it up, not based on merit. Overall bad working environment.
Thats how you end up with the famous Ubuntu-Amazon advertising relationship in the start menu, or the snap package.
Honestly, I would have run away at the very beginning with this weird focus on high school.
If you can't be professional in your recruitment process, it's a big red flag.
Assuming everything is true, he did actually dodge a bullet.