Pros
You will learn very quickly how to become adaptable and how to tackle challenges across all areas of the business given the severe mismanagement from the top down.
Cons
MANAGEMENT CONS: - Company founders lack any relevant management experience, and as such demonstrate an extreme lack of commercial awareness and business acumen. - Company founders operate autonomously and are not prepared to discuss new approaches or improvements despite the business failing. - Company founders create a hostile working environment because: a) They lie to their staff and encourage them to become distrusting of each other hoping this will foster productivity. b) They lack fundamental social skills, on a personal and professional level. - Company founders verbally bully staff members and play team members against each other, with no middle management pulling them up on their inappropriate behaviour. - Company founders do not approach sensitive staff issues / disputes in a mature manner. - Company founders lack a joint / united strategy for the business, expect to be pulled in 2 different directions and to never get a clear plan from either. - All staff are entry-level / new to retail / graduate. As such there is no pool of knowledge of experienced hires to help, resulting in problems remaining ignored as their is no one qualified enough to solve them. - Staff turnover is worryingly high, even for a start-up. - Company founders do not value their long serving staff (those who last over 12 months). - Unclear corporate structure and no reporting lines. PRODUCT / CLIENT SERVICE CONS: -Product is shockingly poor. - Genuine consumer and corporate client feedback is ignored, with no action to better the product. - Lack of operational resources to manage key accounts properly, as such they lack relevant material to ensure long-term growth as opposed to short-term success. - The company founders are wholly dependent on press and media exposure to lend the product any credibility. - Poor logistical planning and ability to work to schedule / a fixed date regarding manufacturing, delivery and campaign launch. As such key accounts are not being serviced to a sufficient standard. WORKING ENVIRONMENT CONS: - Company founders actively discourage taking holiday, or even taking your lunch break. - No sick pay - There is a dislike of staff socialising: expect to be pulled up on this. - No point of contact other than the company founders, internally or externally to raise concerns to or discuss confidential issues with. - Company founders offer internal incentive schemes with no resources nor follow up to honour them. - Expect to work outside of your contracted hours (not uncommon for a start-up), but with no recognition of effort shown. This company is nothing more than a story supporting a poor product. Until there is concrete effort shown to improve the quality of the product on offer, the approach to client servicing and also the approach to the team behind it - it will continue to fail.