Pros

Caliber of people. Good scientific informatics systems. Open corporate culture. Big enough to have sufficient resources and established infrastructure, small enough so that the company was not bloated with inefficient policies and the need to have disparate groups aligned in order to move forward with projects.

Cons

Company grew too fast, large layoffs were inevitable. Company was starting to adopt big pharma policies when the company is still mid-sized (e.g. locked down desktops), feeling of "nimble" startup was eroding. This may accelerate now that they have been acquired by Takeda.

Advice to Senior Management

Try to maintain the exciting small company work environment.