Ex-Apple employees revamp its culture at new high-tech startup

Scotts Valley, California

AT Apple, Brian Latimer was in charge of protecting some of the company's deepest secrets.

After an engineer accidentally left a test version of the iPhone 4 at a bar in 2010, Mr Latimer set up a system to track, recover and destroy prototypes of coming products. Later, he taught overseas suppliers how to shield production lines and compartmentalise information to avoid leaks.

Under Apple's "need to know" philosophy, he did not even have access to much of the information he helped to secure. And, like all Apple employees, he was discouraged from talking about his job with co-workers.

His current employer, Pearl Automation, could not be more different.

Founded in 2014 by three former senior managers from Apple's iPod and iPhone groups, Pearl has tried to replicate what its leaders view as the best parts of Apple's culture, like its fanatical dedication to quality and beautiful design. But the founders also consciously rejected some of the less appealing aspects of life at Apple, like its legendary secrecy and top-dow…