You'd be amazed ... when I first started I reported to the (then) COO who reported to the CEO. But we all sit in the same room, so I'd ask the COO my question, and then he would turn and ask the CEO, who would turn and answer the COO who would then turn and answer me.

But your point about being taken advantage of has been in the forefront of my mind. Thanks for giving that some credence.

The very fact that they have both COO and CEO in startup mode is a huge red flag, btw. That "reply wave" that you describe is also an enormous wtf.

Run.

The first flag was when they told me that not to worry, when we brought on a second programmer, he would report to me. Heh.

So two programmers and the company would already have 4 levels of hierarchy? No thanks.

Says something about their idea of a 'business'

It seems your skills are being mishandled, sir. I would recommend you keep the rainbow appearance (where all looks well) until you find another crutch to lean on (another job offer).

This is always my argument when I'm confused about what to do, and it's always helped: We only have one life, that we know of. Might as well make the most of it.

If you feel your time is better spent somewhere else, than you have your answer. Best of luck m8.

That was my first thought as well. 3 chiefs and one indian? That's an obvious problem.