DivX Reviews

Pros

1. Work life balance is good.
2. 4 weeks vacation.

Cons

1. Look at number of years of experience rather than how smart you are.
2. Not too much growth.

Advice to Senior Management

Hire some smart QA folks and get rid of useless leadership in QA management.

Pros

A lot of the people are really nice. Some of the benefits were very creative, although oftentimes deliberately inexpensive, which is fine, it just shouldn't be used to justify a lack of more traditional benefits.

Cons

Obscure, unkind politics. A very political, back-stabbing environment that pretends it isn't. There is a significant lack of sustained direction, and almost no professional management that really knows how to support employees. Overall, I regret ever working there.

Advice to Senior Management

Resign, and make way for adults. transparency and honesty are essential components of trust. When people don't get the facts, the rumor mill takes over which is incredibly destructive. There is a terrible "buddy" network that is destructive.

Pros

Great people, in an exciting space

Cons

IPO and 2 acquisitions caused some serious pain for veterans

Advice to Senior Management

On to Rovi...not sure what to expect

Pros

Work life balance
Very international environment if you like it
Globally recognized brand, especially in Europe and Asia
Good people whom you will like

Cons

No strategic direction
Incompetent senior management
Undeserved promotions
No deliveries by engineering team, never on time
Having to travel internationally if you don't enjoy it much

Advice to Senior Management

Gather your act together and come up with a good strategy for the company. Learn to value your employees, appreciate good work and promote the people who deserve it, not your buddies. It causes a lot of frustration among employees to see not so smart people trying to lead teams without any clue.

Pros

- Good compensation for the level of work required.
- Relatively ease of transfer from one functional area to another allowing for personal growth if desired.
- Global company
- Very favorable to work-life balance

Cons

- Stagnant company, not a lot of overall growth.
- Hit & miss on peers, as a lot are unmotivated
- High degree of internal politics amongst middle-level management

Advice to Senior Management

Challenge the work force to meet goals and allow employees to grow and take risks. Overall company needs to increase risk tolerance. But will see if transition to Sonic allows for this change.

Pros

Capable and fun people to work with
Exciting technology
Good benefits

Cons

Management sold us out!
Just when DivX turned the corner and become profitable, management sells out to a company that doesn't post profits and whose stock is a complete roller coaster

Advice to Senior Management

Rescind the deal or find a better acquirer.

Pros

Flexible, good work life balance, decent benefits, relaxed environment, & cool co-workers

Cons

Poor products and the management is horrible! No vision, guts, nor potential. Snapshot of a DivX VP: spends all his time making presentations for upper management in order to approve projects that would never see the light of day because he spends too much time squabbling with other VPs and making aimless powerpoints.

Advice to Senior Management

I'm glad you have been bought out. So this message is to sonic. Fire all the VPs and start fresh.

Pros

We as employees get away with a lot here with all the benefits provided by DivX; sometimes almost too a point of taking it for granted. There are a lot of smart, driven, multifaceted individuals that contribute to one of the most talented teams at any company.

When we all eventually need to move on for personal growth, career growth, etc, we will realize how much we had it good.

Cons

UItimately, even the best team coached poorly produces mediocrity and mediocre products. A good team needs a good visionary, a good leader, and a good mentor... sadly DivX suffers from what many other companies have too. The worst part is, as a small company, mediocrity simply pays the bills, not build a future.

Compensation is ok but by far career advancement is tough and often, showing mild favoritism. With a lack of corporate growth there just isn't anywhere to move to at the moment.

Advice to Senior Management

Honesty, transparency.

Pros

- Vacation time (PTO) - 4 weeks
- Casual environment
- Heart and passion from the workers
- Some fairly smart people

Cons

- Entirely too much politics
- No chance to succeed if you are part of the "in" crowd
- People are largely under utilized
- Extremely weak management

Advice to Senior Management

Take advantage of the heart and soul of your employees - they want to see success and growth and the management does nothing to encourage and/or grow the business. If you aren't trying to grow the business, step aside and bring others to take over...

Pros

- 4 weeks vacation
- great group of peers
- laid back place to work
- interesting work
- diverse
- feels like a family

Cons

- lack of concise direction
- politics
- nepotism
- lack of job growth opportunities
- bonuses and pay isn't competitive

Advice to Senior Management

Tap into the smart people you have and stop the politics and provide a unified strategy. DivX has a bright future