Amazing growth and incredible opportunity - Client Development Manager Smartsheet Employee Review

5.0
Feb 25, 2017
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The product is amazing and the customers love it. The business is well managed and financially sound. The market opportunity is HUGE and the company's vision on how to serve it is well defined. Lastly, the growth rate is accelerating at a dramatic rate both in terms of hiring as well as overall revenue trajectory. The Smartsheet platform can provide material value to any functional area of a business and it is a lot of fun to engage these different groups to help improve their effectiveness. That there are so many different ways we can support a customer is a part of the growth potential that exists here. This experience offers an amazing platform for sales people to build their knowledge, skills, and ultimately their careers as they move through Smartsheet or beyond. The company is clear in how it defines it's core values and the hiring reflects those values. This place is full of bright, creative, and authentic people who are committed to developing themselves and growing the business. Collaboration is core to the product and it is also in the DNA of teams as well. If you are looking to surround yourself with great people that can challenge you, represent a product you can stand behind, and give yourself a platform to grow your career, Smartsheet should be on your short list.

Cons

When a company is growing as quickly as Smartsheet is, it can be difficult to ensure they systems and processes are scaling quickly enough to properly support that growth. This is to be expected in this type of environment but when you run into these issues, it can be painful. The company and the leadership team are quick to try and resolve the issues but it can be frustrating for sales people who have come from more mature selling environments where these problems may already have been addressed and they haven't had to live through them. Unforeseen (or maybe foreseen but not prioritized) challenges are a reality of this type of growth and while I list these as cons, it would be unrealistic to expect there to be none. When considering what Smartsheet is trying to do from a growth perspective, these can be easily overlooked. Lastly, because the product serves so many markets and potential buyers, there is no clear playbook on how to be successful. Most companies usually have an offering that solves a very specific problem, for a specific audience, and offers a specific value prop. For Smartsheet, all of those elements can vary wildly between customer engagements. While that makes the selling environment mentally stimulating, it also makes it harder than in other companies. Smart, curious, creative, and hardworking people will thrive here. People looking for an easy place to land will be miserable and I would encourage them to continue looking elsewhere.

Explore other reviews about Smartsheet

5.0
Jun 11, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Great collaborative environment and competitive

Cons

Easily overwhelmed with phone calls, chats, and emails.

1.0
May 26, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Supportive of AI tooling. I had a great manager. I heard the severance packages are great, but I left of my own volition, so I don’t have personal experience.

Cons

Complete lack of direction or management at the mid to high levels of the company in product and engineering (most everyone left or was pushed out by cronyism from the private equity acquisition). No more equity offered to employees. No opportunities for promotion. They’ve shipped or are shipping most of the core products (including the core “sheet” aka Grid app) to India and have laid off tons of employees (somewhere between 12% and 15% of the company). Upper management did the thing where they had the US developers interview tons of people out of India, and then about half a year later laid off tons US developers, including several of the people that did the interviews. Upper management said that the India teams would be working on other projects, but clearly that was a lie. They laid off people without consulting their managers, or their manager’s managers, and without knowing what team they actually worked on or what they did. So entire teams were laid off unbeknownst to them. Very quick and poor handoffs to India, if any. You will likely be working on multiple teams at once, or moved to multiple teams during your time there in short periods of time. On-call can be a nightmare. There is no culture of any kind. Basically do not work here, whether you’re out of the US, India, or Bulgaria (the main countries for developers).

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Smartsheet Response
1w
Thank you for your honesty. While we’re glad that you had a great team and the tools you needed, it’s incredibly tough to hear that other aspects of your experience were less than great. To your point about equity, we’d like to clarify that we do offer a limited equity pool with specific eligibility. That said, navigating transition is already tough, and adding in other aspects like global shifts and new leadership can make it feel even harder. We know the dust hasn’t completely settled, and we understand that we have a lot of work to do to repair employee trust and morale. We’ve set off on that journey, and we appreciate all of this feedback along the way. Thank you, and we wish you all the best in your next chapter.
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