E613 - Retention for Engineering Teams, What Keeps Top People Around

Phil Freo, VP of Product and Engineering at Close, has lived the rare arc from founding engineer to executive leader. In this conversation, he breaks down why he stayed nearly 12 years, and what it takes to build a team that people actually want to grow with.

We get into retention that is earned, not hoped for, the culture choices that compound over time, and the practical systems that make remote work and knowledge sharing hold up at scale.

Key takeaways

• Staying for a decade is not about lo...