Pros
I was initially an angel investor in the company after hearing the founder’s presentation and investment pitch deck. Having worked at Shopify in the past, I felt attuned to the problem Bitespeed was trying to solve in the Shopify ecosystem. I was taken by the founder’s candour and ability to thoughtfully consider feedback. Over the past 2 years or so, I've witnessed many versions of Bitespeed, first in the capacity of advising sporadically on technical matters and more recently in the capacity of working remotely in a more structured and regular manner doing engineering. I am continuously impressed by the team's tenacity and persistence in face of the many ups and downs of early stage startup life. Given the young age of most of the team members, I find this noteworthy. In my experience, everyone I've come across at the company has been sharp, has had a sense of levity and worked hard. It's impossible to not make any mistakes especially in a crunch environment like an early startup that is gaining traction with a team full of young people. From what I have seen the team doesn't get bogged down but instead takes ownership of things when they go wrong while course correcting constantly and being relentlessly resourceful. This gives me faith that over time Bitespeed will continue to grow into a well oiled machine that operates a great business that is delighting customers and employees alike.
Cons
They're a headstrong bunch, and so you have to really figure out how to make your points and arguments and be diligent with follow up. This is not a bad thing, since founding team is responsible for the overall success of the company and needs to have strong opinions and conviction, but it is something that definitely needs practice and finesse to get right.