Rev Worldwide Reviews

Current Employee – been working at Rev Worldwide full-time for more than 7 years

Pros – They are a startup with real, paying customers!

You get to work with smart, capable people from around the world.

People who excel have the opportunity to advance.

At the individual level they really are focussed on results.

Solutions are chosen based on long-term sustainability rather than short-term ease of implementation.

You can make an impact and be recognized outside your group.

Cons – The environment is 24/7 so you may occasionally work odd hours.

They are doing a lot with a little and the onus is on you to keep up with the pace.

Advice to Senior Management – Time is precious so choose programs wisely and be sure they fit with the big picture.

People naturally want to help so keep communication channels as open as possible.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at Rev Worldwide full-time for more than a year

Pros – - Colleagues: Most are talented, good people with whom it is a pleasure to work.

- Location: Great office in Central Austin, close to downtown and flagship Whole Foods.

- Mission: Rev's stated mission to empower the financially underserved is exciting...at first.

Cons – - Operations: Company is mismanaged and desperately in need of a COO. Reporting structures are unclear and priorities shift often. Although some of this is normal for a startup, the mismanagement here goes beyond that. Plus, Rev really can't be classified as a startup anymore.

- Financial Instability: The company's funding is uncertain, which sometimes results in employees not being paid on time. Vendor payment is chronically late. Funding sources are drying up as investors become increasingly aware of operational mismanagement.

- Low Morale & High Turnover: In the typical employee lifecycle, a new employee will be excited to join Rev, drawn by the prospect of empowering the underserved making a difference at an entrepreneurial organization. There will be problems, but the employee will believe senior management's claims that problems are caused by (a) the normal growing pains of a relatively young company and (b) other incompetent/disloyal employees. Then there will be a reorg and round of layoffs (it happens every 6 months or so), and management will promise that new partnerships and funding sources are just around the corner. By the end of the employee's first year, it becomes clear that the problems are systemic and nothing is going to change as long at senior management remains the same. Eventually, the employee will leave. Rev has lost some of its best people this way, which is very unfortunate.

Advice to Senior Management – You are very strong in certain areas: visioning, business development, and PR. Focus on those things because you do them better than anyone else. But when it comes to operations and management, relinquish some control and delegate it to others whose strengths are in those areas.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at Rev Worldwide full-time for more than 3 years

Pros – Very bright coworkers. I've been impressed most every one I interact with.

Collaborative work environment. If you have opinions and ideas they will be heard. Management empowers those that care.

A good place to sharpen your skills and develop new capabilities. This comes at a cost. You have to get over the learning curve. A global payments business is complex - especially a young one.

Very little bureaucracy.

Cons – Management processes are extemporaneous, if you don't know how to properly manage up or manage yourself then it can be a stressful place to work. If you prefer a work environment that is more systematic I would recommend you look elsewhere. Entrepreneurs thrive.

You often have to wear many hats.

Advice to Senior Management – Find more entrepreneurs and install them in every department. Develop those qualities in everyone else and don't invest in people that like heavy guidance.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at Rev Worldwide full-time for more than a year

Pros – Pros are all about what you are looking for as an employee. For me - I wanted a face paced environment where I would be able to work on my own and work with others around the world. I also wanted to work with a start up that I could help grow and grow with. Finally, I wanted an entrepreneurial environment so that I could tackle new tasks out of my traditional work scope - learning more and becoming more knowledgable about business as a whole. Working at Rev has fit all of my needs and more.

Cons – Some may see the following as a con - long work hours and working weekends. Rev is a start up and that means 24/7 - but you have to remind yourself that you are a building block of a company. Your hard work is making the stronger and creating more value. When you see it that way the long hours and weekends are not really a con.

Advice to Senior Management – The management from the top down is great. The are wise beyond their years and they offer a track record of success in a variety of fields. I am privileged to work with such a diverse and knowledgable management team. I ask that they keep communicating to us the goals and the vision of Rev.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at Rev Worldwide full-time for more than 7 years

Pros – Talented and driven co-workers.
Very little bureaucracy.
Freedom to explore various career opportunities. If you are talented and hard working, you will be recognized and rewarded without having to be a brownnoser.
Freedom to chart your own course.
Many projects involve global markets and, thus, present unique life experience .
You are as good as you want to be. In many projects, the stake holders are expected to do the analysis, planning and research. They are discouraged from simply taking orders from their manager.
The company went through a brief but rough period and many people, some of them extremely talented, were not ready for the bumpy adventure and decided to leave. Today, the company consists of people who are dedicated and are willing to take risk...and they want to be here.
Advice to potential employees. Success is not whether you draw a steady stream of paychecks or your title. It is when you look back in five years you are proud of your achievements.

Cons – It is in every way a startup: there are instabilities and people have to adapt to unexpected challenges and work. This company is not for everyone. If you are competent but expect a regular 9 to 5 schedule, this company is not a good fit.
During the bumpy ride period, the company should've managed the process in a more orderly fashion. I hope the management team has taken the time to reflect on the experience and learn from the mistakes as well as the positive measures taken.
You are expected to be on your own. It is a sink-or-swim environment and it may turn new employees off if they are not mentally prepared.
It takes some time to get use to the somewhat chaotic nature of the environment. The company at some point needs to invest upfront in training its new employees through mentorship.
It is a 24x7 company. At times, it can be exhausting and unnerving and subsequently contributes to inter-deparmental tension.

Advice to Senior Management – Focus. There are too many ambitious projects. There are many concrete projects in the pipeline to propel the company into a big success. We don't need to take on any more speculative deals.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at Rev Worldwide full-time for more than a year

Pros – - Great talent: This is a technology company with very smart and skilled engineers.
- Great experience: I have learned a lot while at Rev.
- Mission driven: We work on stuff that actually delivers social impact.
- International reach: Our work touches folks in over 10 countries across multiple continents. Our partners are some of the largest companies in the world.
- Small groups: We don't get buried in large scale bureaucracy. There is an immediate output to our work. All employees have access, and work side by side with top management.

Cons – - Steep learning curve: If you are looking for a 1-2 month initial training program you will be disappointed. Industry context is a requirement for success. Those without the skills, or experience end up being a drag on the team both from a performance and culture perspective.
- Hard work--really. Business doubled from last year and seems like it will do so again. Hiring is not keeping up with that growth rate.
- Fast pace. The product release cycles are extremely aggressive.
- Global reach also means we need to support product across 24 time zones.

Advice to Senior Management – - Figure out a way to reduce the learning curve or slow down the pace. More formal training?
- Thank you for raising the bar and eliminating positions that attracted folks that were not committed, or contributed to our efforts.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Former Employee – worked at Rev Worldwide full-time for more than a year

Pros – - Cool office space
- Smart and generally cool co-workers
- Exciting product description with a global visions
- Unbeatable location right near whole foods
- Friends are impressed when you tell them you build technology products to help the underserved

Cons – - The products are inferior to competitors in terms of features and technology.
- Initially, you think you are working for a company that helps the underserved but that is not really the truth. The products developed here are all fee based products designed to extract money from poor people...the exact opposite of what you may have signed up for.
- Chances of this company turning around is slim in my opinion.
- There are 5 companies all under one roof and not properly departmentalized. The technology assets are shared and commingled which is a problematic and a conflict of interest if you are a shareholder of only one of the companies.
- They don't pay you on time. The owners drive brand new Ferarri's and Mercedes but yet cant figure out a way to make payroll on time. They go from one investor bailout to the next. In between those bailouts, dont expect to get paid on time.
- It is stressful not knowing if you will be paid or not. Dont link mortgage payments or car payments to your bank account because direct deposit is not reliable and you will bounce items and incur bank fees. Some employees have missed child support payments and that caused them legal issues.
- Your insurance may or may not work when you need it (They dont pay on time and dip into HSA to cover payroll).
- The companies are not likely to turn a profit so if you are promised stock options they will probably be worthless. Most employees who leave do not exercise their options even at the lowest pennies on the dollar strike price.
- Vendors are not paid. Not a single vendor I dealt with was paid on time. Not one. Every vendor I dealt with has a past due balance. If you get a position here requiring you to be the point of contact with vendors, you will be embarrassed and want to crawl into a hole because you will look like a scumbag. The hardest part of my job was having to put on a straight face when negotiating with new vendors and then having to deal with their wrath when we inevitably burn them and renege on payments. To solve this, you have to find a new vendor and start the process over. The good thing is no one has a monopoly these days so you can always find another sucker to provide services to you after you burn the other vendor.
- Its hard to fall in love with the job because when you do something you think is good, it could be criticized or trashed for no logical reason.
- The owners are not trustworthy and not believable.

Advice to Senior Management – Stop deceiving your investors, vendors, partners and employees. Provide a clear vision for the future that employees can believe in and get behind. No one believes the PR fluff anymore. No one. I doubt anyone who has been there 6 months or more believes in the products. (you might fool new employees for a few months) If they pretend to believe, they are just there for the paycheck and playing nice. Do something about the bashing. Your most senior and loyal people are the ones bashing the most which causes a negativity that is hard to work under.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at Rev Worldwide full-time for more than a year

Pros – Great Laid-back atmosphere, amazing people, benefits, pay's well, never dull

Cons – Start-up environment for those who don't like it

Advice to Senior Management – First and foremost, this is a start-up. We might be global, but it still has the personality of a start-up. This means that there are fires to put out, changes to be made, pay can be off schedule from time to time, positions come and go.... but if you have the fortitude for it, it can be amazing. Think about the most notable companies... they had to start somewhere and I can almost bet that they had trouble maintaining payroll in the beginning. McDonald started off paying his secretary in stock and guess who's family is full of wealth now.

I have worked with several large publicly traded companies and a few mom and pops and by far this is my absolute favorite place to have ever worked.

If you want to get a little, you have to give a little. If you want corporate, stable, dull... this is not the place. If you want interesting, challenging, rewarding, with a little company happy hours sprinkled on top, this is perfect for you. I love it and I would not choose anywhere else.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Former Employee – worked at Rev Worldwide full-time for more than a year

Pros – ~Great co-workers and fantastic location (Whole Foods is the un-official company cafeteria)
~Company goal of providing financial services to unbanked and under banked people globally is very admirable

Cons – ~Co-founding Sosa brothers looking out more for themselves than their employees have decided to cut people who have been loyal and endured six months of late (up to three weeks) paychecks, instead of relocating to a smaller, more affordable offices and cutting programs that are bleeding the company's finances dry
~Very limited opportunities for advancement and forget asking to attend any kind of trainings

Advice to Senior Management – Get over yourselves and start listening to your executive team who is giving you good advice on how to save your company without getting rid of your most valuable assets....the people who have actually built it.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

Former Employee – worked at Rev Worldwide full-time for more than a year

Pros – Talented people who enjoy going above and beyond. Nice location. Great business model

Cons – Yes, it is a startup. You expect obstacles, long hours, working outside of your "job description". However, you DO NOT expect to work for free. Paychecks delivered weeks after?

Employees are given false hope and lured into dreams of grandeur.

Advice to Senior Management – Need to start listening and put your egos/pride aside if you want the company to succeed. Concentrate on a few projects and make sure they're off and running before you start something else you can't finish

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company