The core objection here seems to be that a dozen people have foolishly volunteered (or been manipulated) into a long series of death marches. It's painful to see so many young people exploited so severely. After enough years, it could lead to burnout, or perhaps, a life and death situation. Is there anything that fills you with rage?

You are talking about relatively well-paid engineers putting in extra hours to get ready for SXSW. I also disagree with parts of her management style, but nothing suggests that any of the employees were "severely exploited".

Yes.