Cytori Therapeutics Employee Review

Current Employee – been working at Cytori Therapeutics

Pros – Casual, young, work environment.

They have hired some very bright scientists and doctors. There is so much to do that you can expand your responsibilities across all departments.

Cons – The senior management team suffers from a classic case of "Founders Sydrome". They try to fill their internal gaps with young inexpensive, inexperienced interns or recent college grads. This creates layers of management so that when they do hire an employee with experience there are internal obstacles that must be overcome just to accomplish some of the basic tasks. The environment is highly political. There are people in positions that are connected to the President or CEO and not necessarily qualified for the job that they hold. This type of activity isn't sustainable. Eventually the executive team will be held accountable for their ability to perform versus their ability to raise money. They have done well as an R&D company but are failing to become commercially viable. It is a shame because their technology has potential. Cytori cannot afford to keep making the same management mistakes that they have been making. At some point the board will demand more of them and will want to see progress towards the return on their investment. The founders have been able to develop the technology and create a company. They will have to hire a senior executive from outside to take the company to the next level and effectively execute a "turn-around" strategy. The stock is currently trading at 1.96. The next 12-18 months will be sink or swim.

Advice to Senior Management – Streamline your business. Remove those employees that offer little to no value. Invest in senior experienced marketing and sales professionals to lead the way towards real commercialization. Experience and expertise is more valuable than friendship when it comes to business performance. Value experience over cost. Don't hire an engineer and expect him to be able to perform a sales or marketing role. Hire people for their area of expertise. You may have to outsource some of your resources, but do it wisely.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend