23andMe Employee Review

Former Employee – worked at 23andMe

Pros – - 23andMe is trying to fundamentally alter health care to improve care and outcomes, and they have a real shot at doing it. Who wouldn't want to be a part of making that happen?

- You get to work with exceptionally talented people. It raises everyone's game.

- Great benefits and a workplace that is highly accommodating to needs and personal preferences. I will admit I packed on a few extra pounds from the free food, but had I made better use of the exercise facilities and services that needn't have happened.

- 23andMe is an increasingly recognizable brand and it's not only been very valuable to me professionally to have worked there, but also the source of many fun and stimulating conversations.

- What 23andMe does is disruptive to several flawed but entrenched fields (ex. inefficient models of funding and misaligned incentives in academic research) and that isn't always easy but it is the future and you get to experience that from the inside. Perhaps I'm not typical in viewing that as a perk, but I do!

- It's a start-up, and that means lots of opportunity. In my two years at 23andMe I worked on numerous exciting and worthwhile projects and had a chance to participate in or observe activities in all departments and at all levels. Some have shared concerns about the way decisions were made at the leadership level, but my experience was one of being highly empowered and encouraged to take even more ownership over the current shape and future direction of the projects I managed.

- Lastly, I do want to mention that I can understand why some of the other reviewers would rate their overall experiences as poor, but think it's important to note that not all work environments are a good fit for everyone. In my two years at 23andMe, there were some employees for whom it was not a great fit. They all eventually left; not all left voluntarily. While it's not fun to experience reductions in force, I think it's a very important thing for a company to be willing and able to do, when necessary.

Cons – - It's a small start-up and that means that there is little in the way of middle management. For those who are comfortable working independently and don't need or want to spend a lot of time on performance feedback and career planning this might not be a con, but if you are not one of those people, 23andMe might not be a great fit (nor would many start-up companies).

- Genetics in general and DTC genetics in particular is an incredibly fast-paced, at times volatile industry. If you're someone who doesn't like surprises, likes setting and adhering to long-term plans and would be very frustrated if a project you were working on was tabled, then no, this might not be your ideal work environment. On the flip side, it's always relevant and never boring. Never.

- 23andMe doesn't hold all of the keys to its own success and it's most definitely a riskier industry than many others. It is subject to intense scrutiny and there are people who would like to see it fail.

Advice to Senior Management – Re-hire me when I finish grad school!

More seriously, there is a big discrepancy between the actual progress and accomplishments of the company and the general awareness of those advances by the public. It would behoove you to think of more ways to share how far you've come in terms of the amount of data in an account, the interactive tools available to understand and engage with your data, and the research accomplishments -- both evidence in support of your research model and the novel discoveries you've made.

Also, it will be very important to figure out how to lower the financial barrier to entry as I've met countless people who would love to be customers but for whom the price of the service is still too high.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend