- Ideologically inbred
Shopify insists that its very different from a traditional company, but as far as I can tell, they have no concept of the workings of a traditional company. They don't seem to know what works well in a normal company, or why things that don't work, don't work. As a result, they don't know how to do normal things effectively (having meetings, organizing work, etc.).
- Management is not involved or aware.
Managers didn't really know what was going on with our projects and didn't ask, which is good if you're screwing around all day, but bad if you're trying to actually get something done and need their help. The vacuum left by management is filled by informal structures; cliques and popularity contests.
- Feels like high school
Having friends and being popular is extremely important. Your boss won't know if you're doing a good job, but they will know if somebody doesn't like you, or if you're not getting along.
- Lacks diversity
As with most tech companies, most of the people working on the tech side of things are of the same race, gender and age group. While not as bad as other places I've worked, brogrammer culture is very strong. Women and minorities are at a disadvantage.
- Opportunities for advancement are largely illusionary
The company will tout the rich field of opportunities that are available to you, but the management defers to the workers for indications of who should be promoted, which goes back to what I said about the popularity contest. Creativity and innovation are stifled by entrenched workers.
