Pros
The people. Honestly, the people are the only reason many of us are still here. When I joined Ninety, it felt like a dream company. I remember being genuinely impressed by the quality of human beings working here. People cared about customers. People cared about each other. The goal wasn't just making money. We wanted to do great work and provide great service. The company wasn't cheap back then either. If someone needed equipment, they got it. There were Amazon gift cards. DoorDash credits. Little things that made employees feel appreciated and valued. The product is still great. There are some incredibly smart people working here and the software has so much potential. Sometimes I wonder how successful Ninety could be if leadership actually listened to more of those people. Also, shoutout to my coworkers. Is it friendship or trauma bonding at this point? Hard to tell. But they are some of the kindest, most human people I've ever worked with.
Cons
Where do I even begin? Ninety today feels like the complete opposite of the company I joined. Everything is about money now. There never seems to be money for employees, development, raises, benefits, or resources. Somehow there's always a reason why the answer is no. The professional development benefit is probably my favorite joke. The company loves talking about professional development. What they don't mention is that they get to decide what counts as professional development. Want to take a course that helps you become a better leader? Maybe prepare for a future role? Expand your skills beyond your current job? Good luck. If it doesn't perfectly match your current responsibilities, don't be surprised when it gets denied. So the message basically becomes: "We support your growth, as long as you stay exactly where you are." Career path? I'm sorry, career path? That's one of the funniest phrases used around here. People talk about career growth, but leadership roles constantly seem to be filled from the outside while employees stay in the same positions year after year. Sometimes it feels like your best chance of moving up is being related to the right people or already being part of the inner circle. Want to become a leader? Go study leadership. Just don't expect the company to approve the leadership course. Now let's talk about the layoffs. Honestly, just thinking about them still gives me a knot in my stomach and tension in my neck. Every round comes with the same message. "This is necessary." "We're in a good place now." "This shouldn't happen again." Then somehow it happens again. And again. And again. At some point it starts feeling like that toxic relationship where you're told things will be different this time. The culture changed completely after that. People don't complain. People don't challenge decisions. People don't openly disagree. Not because everyone is happy. Because everyone is scared. Nobody wants to be the next calendar invite. Transparency is another interesting topic. We're constantly told to trust leadership, but transparency feels harder and harder to find. I honestly couldn't tell you what strategic thinking is happening behind some of the decisions being made because employees rarely get enough context to understand them. What we do get are endless new processes, extra work, outdated ideas, and initiatives that seem disconnected from reality. The best part? Nobody says anything because leadership rarely seems interested in hearing it anyway. They asked employees not to leave negative Glassdoor reviews. Did they ask because they were making major improvements? No. Did they ask because they wanted to understand employee concerns? No. They asked because the reviews were hurting the company's image. That pretty much summarizes the current state of things. Raises? Absolutely not. I've never seen a company make compensation growth feel so impossible. You can talk to your manager. You can talk to leadership. You can make your case. At the end of the day there always seems to be some invisible policy, hidden reason, or mysterious budget issue that prevents anything from happening. The answer is almost always no. The saddest part is that Ninety used to be incredible. I genuinely loved working here. I used to recommend this company to everyone. Now I find myself getting sad watching what it has become. Maybe that's why this review sounds emotional. Because I'm not writing about a company I never cared about. I'm writing about a company I loved.
