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A lot of hype and hope but no actual product. Don't go near it! - Anonymous employee Castlight Employee Review

2.0
Mar 20, 2018
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Castlight has a number of really good people who care about the product, their clients and each other. The original vision was built around price transparency and care guidance. The marketing of the Castlight message is very strong and they built a good reputation in the market. John Doyle is doing his best with what he has to work with.

Cons

Unfortunately, the merger/acquisition of Jiff, a wellbeing platform, radically changed the direction of the entire company. The Jiff product was revolutionary but is woefully underdeveloped. There is a reason why the new logo now looks like a "loading" circle image that you get when you wait for an app to load. That's what most of our clients received. A lot of hype and hope but no real product. The integration between Castlight and Jiff that was supposed to happen in 2018 is now being pushed out later and later. The Castlight co-founder and other key people were forced to toe the company line and take the blame for the inferior product. When that didn't work, they were forced out of the company. You can't even mention the founders' name in the office. The sales team is never held accountable for selling something that the platform couldn't deliver. Instead, the employees are constantly asked to do more with less. We had to walk back so many promises made by the sales team during the process. Be prepared to have no input on the direction of the company or even asked for feedback on the product. The leadership (especially the new ones from Jiff) have no experience and treat their favorites differently than the rest of the team. Their immaturity shows up in how they conduct themselves, meetings and simple processes like recruiting or merit increase conversations. Everyone else knows it but they are too afraid to speak up for fear that they will no longer be part of the "cool" group.

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Castlight Response
8y
—This message was posted on behalf of John Doyle, CEO of Castlight— We are disappointed that you decided to leave Castlight after more than three years with the company. We appreciate the many contributions you made during your time with us and we wish that we had had the opportunity to discuss your observations while you were here. We are proud of the businesses that Castlight and Jiff built independently. Bringing the companies together has enabled us to build out the most comprehensive healthcare navigation solution in the market much more rapidly than either company could have done alone. As we do so, there are of course new challenges to confront. This is true of any merger. But we lock arms and work through them together because there's a huge payoff in the value we create for our customers and users. Most recently, we are gratified that users' responses to our first launches of products that combine functionality from both companies have been more favorable than any previous product launch in our history. It's a phenomenal start that energizes us about the exciting new capabilities we will be launching in the future. It is especially disappointing that you became confused about the changes in our leadership team that occurred in 2017. As we communicated and celebrated together at the time, Gio Colella is a beloved and visionary co-founder of Castlight without whom none of us would have the opportunity to build great products for people who need our help to navigate the stifling complexities and costs of healthcare. Gio was a great partner to our board and leadership team in the management transitions following the merger, and he remains a mentor and close friend to many of us today and always. We love Gio.

Explore other reviews about Castlight

5.0
Jun 13, 2024
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

great coworkers, amazing leadership and fun office

Cons

not a lot of negatives. company was a mature startup

1.0
Sep 5, 2024
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Castlight Health is a brand under apree health, not a company anymore. The CEO is not Maeve O'Maera, This page is misleading. Castlight and Vera Whole Health merged to form apree health but are still operating under their brand name.

Cons

Executive leadership is toxic and has completely destroyed the company drove out the leadership that actually deserved to be there. Private equity company took over and are just gutting the company to sell and make a dime. THIS is one of many things that are ruining healthcare.

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