Changing Rapidly - Anonymous employee Refinery29 Employee Review

3.0
Jul 29, 2014
Anonymous employee
Recommend
Business Outlook

Pros

It's a great name to have on your resume because of its reputation for being so fast-paced. If you're a highly visible employee, they'll promote you much quicker than a quieter, behind-the-scenes worker who does 4X as much. They often promote within.

Cons

Upper management is ignorant of the fact that employees have no work-life balance. Founders treat you as though you have the same stake in their company as they do, and expect you to be as invested as them. This often means answering emails within minutes during nights, weekends, vacations, and sick time.

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5.0
May 27, 2026
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Pros

Great culture, extremely nice employees, diverse workplace

Cons

Not very cutting edge with their approach to tech

4.0
Mar 23, 2026
Recommend
Business Outlook

Pros

Refinery29 was training day, every day. The pace and creative expectations forced you to sharpen fast. I cut my teeth here over four years and came out a fundamentally better strategist. The work was culturally plugged in, the people were sharp, and you were trusted with real responsibility early. If you wanted to learn how brand, content, and audience intersect at speed, there was no better place.

Cons

The intensity that makes it a great training ground also means the environment runs hot. Not everyone thrives in that — and depending on your team, support structures varied. The company went through a lot of change during my time, which created some instability.

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