Great People, But the System is Built to Break You
Pros
- Talented colleagues – You’ll work with incredibly smart, driven people who genuinely want to build great things. - Ownership mentality – If you see a gap, you can take initiative and try to drive change. - Fast-paced, high-growth environment – Great place to build resilience and learn to work under pressure. - Global opportunities – Travel and cross-office collaboration can be exciting.
Cons
- Lack of investment in people – There’s little structured support for growth, training, or promotions. Career advancement is unclear and inconsistent. - Burnout culture – High performers are rewarded with more work, not promotions or pay raises. There is a sense that the company wants to increase attrition of staff, but the high performers are the ones leaving, leading to additional strain in teams. This creates a domino effect of burnout. - Weak leadership accountability – Many managers are promoted without leadership skills, leading to mismanagement and lack of psychological safety. - Performative DEI – The company promotes diversity externally but ignores real systemic issues internally. Reporting concerns often leads nowhere. If you are a woman or other minority in tech, I would actually think twice before joining this company. - Office politics & favoritism – Influence and power struggles often dictate decisions more than merit or company values. To potential applicants, PLEASE reach out to former employees via LinkedIn or email to ask for their views on the culture, preferably leavers from the team you are considering.