Great culture, great people. I've never seen a culture like the one we have at ThoughtForm.
Pros
The people are smart and talented. We work with blue-chip clients. The work is great if you love design as I do. People work as a team. There are no silos. Everyone pitches in when a project needs help, even if it's not their project. No one is ever running around with their hair on fire. No one cries at their desk. It's the best and most unusual work culture I've ever heard of or experienced. ThoughtForm is extremely flexible about when you do your work. However, you can't make a practice of working from home, which doesn't bother me but may bother others. Management is sometimes willing to negotiate reduced schedules, which I think is amazingly wonderful.
Cons
If you like being a Type A, you won't fit in. This is as close to a socialist work environment as you'll ever see, which can mean decision-making is slow, but to me that's a worthwhile trade. It's a small shop, so there isn't a four- or five-step clear-cut career path. You can move into more senior roles on projects, but you'll still be doing a lot of what you were doing when you were more junior (basically, "work") because of the size of the shop. Getting more skills is something you have to push for and take responsibility for yourself. Some people may consider that a negative, but I don't. I know the people here, including me, could be making more money, but I also don't want to be running around with my hair on fire or crying at my desk. Been there, done that. There are occasional layoffs when business is soft. A good number of people here have never worked anywhere else. That speaks to the positive culture--there are people who are happy to stay and stay--but also to insularity.
