Change is The Only Constant , Embrace It - The Future is Bright
Pros
Meraki is at an interesting juncture in its 13 year history since being founded out of PHD research project at MIT. The business has scaled over $2B in revenue annually with over 2M customer networks in a relatively short time frame since Cisco acquired Meraki in Dec 2012. There are over 2K employees globally and we're expanding into new markets. The company has done an excellent job at preserving its unique culture (post-acquisition) and that is infused throughout the regional offices (London, Sydney, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Chicago, and SF). It is a company that values individuality and uniqueness and I've never felt like I could truly bring my full self to work until I started working here. The portfolio has evolved immensely from WiFi to Smart Cameras! all managed through a single cloud-dashboard and Meraki is breaking new ground in the industry and its a privilege to sell such a phenomenal product that gives me pride and genuinely makes a difference in our customers lives. I've been promoted two times since joining and its a testament to the hard work I put into my day-to-day along with the opportunities that exist internally. My career path has not been linear either as I've stepped out of my sales capacity to support more operational and strategic initiatives. I've seen a fair number of people leave the company for more responsibility so in some ways I view Meraki as a springboard for your career but I've also seen very talented people leave and then come back because the grass isn't always greener.
Cons
You'll hear a lot of resistance regarding adopting best practices from Cisco (GMAIL to Outlook, etc) and that's to be expected because Meraki is no longer a startup. We would not had nearly the level of success that we've had if Cisco had not acquired us. We have the PRIVILEGE of working as a Business Entity within a company ranked #12 on Linkedin best workplaces and #9 for Best Workplaces for Millennials. Is there going to be growing pains - ABSOLUTELY! Are there some office politics - ABSOLUTELY! They exist in EVERY company but "in weak companies politics win, in strong companies best ideas win" and at Meraki the best ideas prevail.
