Pros
I was previously employed at another tech company in downtown Seattle before making the move to Smartsheet in 2017, prior to the IPO. A lot has changed since, including the fact 95% of teams have been working and may continue working from home. I wouldn’t say I’ve drank the kook-aid too much, but now that we are working from home, it’s been pretty ideal. No commute, able to work on my schedule and little to no micromanaging (assuming you’re successful in your role). Clients really like the product and want to do more with it, so it’s exciting to tackle a new challenge for each business and almost always a positive interaction. Makes the day to day pleasant and you gain a sense of accomplishment when they’re successful. I’ve been fortunate to make good friends with several colleagues outside of work and I think that’s a testament to the type of people who work here. In my experience, I have what I need to be successful in my role and can generally get the help I need when I need it. Pay has increased every year, RSUs, ESPP and 401k match, no complaints there.
Cons
As with most tech companies, it’s nearly impossible to not run into growing pains as you scale. In my time at the company, in 4+ years, the org has quadrupled in size. With that, you can seem like a cog in the train, especially when there are a lot of added responsibilities when working with new and different teams. Change is rapid and situations can always arise when scaling as fast as things do when a company goes from private to public. For example, we’ve had a professional services backlog for 6+ months and looks like we’re just ok with it at this point. Leadership is as good as you make it. I’ve seen bad managers but have also seen a lot of good managers as well. I think it’s more just a general lack of experience more than anything.
