Pros
The company hires exceptional individuals who are highly capable, intelligent, and self-motivated. When the leadership team is absent, the culture improves, and productivity significantly increases as the team are self-starters with great intuition, which is unfortunately undervalued. This was evident when a local event was organised with huge success, whilst leadership were not micromanaging due to attending a blockchain event.
Cons
I strongly advise against working at this company due to its toxic culture and poor management practices. The CEO and his two close associates create a highly unprofessional environment, leading to employee dissatisfaction and high turnover. Here are some issues that I experienced during my time there: Lack of Constructive Feedback and Support: - No constructive feedback is provided, and employees receive little to no support for their professional development. Performance is not measured by metrics but often by the CEO’s subjective opinion of you. - Unlike other companies where quarterly reviews or 1-1s are opportunities to provide feedback, the leadership uses these sessions to dominate the conversation. Any form of criticism or feedback is unwelcome, and those who speak out are treated differently. - During my initial training, I was reprimanded for not understanding processes that were neither documented nor explained to me, leaving me feeling unmotivated and incapable. Rigid and Extended Working Hours: - The advertised working hours are 9am-6pm, but there is no flexibility. Employees must be online by 8:59am for the daily mandatory 9am stand-up meetings, requiring employees to arrive earlier to settle in. It’s common to work until 7pm or later multiple times a week, and it is frowned upon to leave at 6pm on the dot. - The company also expects employees to be on call at all times, including weekends and during annual leave. Failing to respond to client messages within an hour, even when on holiday, is deemed unacceptable. - During in-person events, employees are expected to work over 8 hours with little to no formally scheduled breaks. Due to the culture created, asking for a break is frowned upon. - High levels of micromanagement in this company lead to decreased productivity. High Turnover and Poor Scaling: - The company size has never increased beyond approximately 20 employees due to frequent firings and resignations. - In May 2024, seven people left the company—three quit (two without securing another job) and four were fired without prior warning or performance improvement plans, despite the company being short-staffed. Double Standards and Poor Communication: - There are blatant double standards, favouritism, and gossip among the leadership, leading to deep mistrust. - Positive reviews on this platform are likely written by the leadership team themselves to manipulate the company’s image, as some role titles do not match those within the team. - Internal communications are poorly managed, with no effective systems for documenting processes apart from posting on Discord. Suggestions for improvements are dismissed, and employees are told to "simply be better." Exploitation of New Graduates: - The company predominantly hires new graduates, exploiting their lack of work experience to perpetuate the toxic culture. In summary, this company is disorganised and traumatising to work for. The only "skill" you might gain here is resilience against a toxic work environment. I recommend investing more time in finding a better job elsewhere, as the mental and emotional toll this company takes is not worth any potential financial gain. Stay away for the sake of your well-being and career growth.