mSpot Reviews

Current Employee – been working at mSpot full-time

Pros – What I really love about working here is that it's not just any tech company-- we're a music company. mSpot has the advantages of working in a start-up like environment while being funded and backed by Samsung. We have a cool new building, people are friendly and collaborative and everyone, including management, is really accessible. The technology is good and improving all the time. I work with a lot of smart people who I learn from. Even though we're part of a bigger company, it still feels small enough that I can have some impact on the product and on how we do things around here. It's always busy and challenging, but I feel like I'm making the product better.

Besides all of this, we have food/snacks/drinks available all the time, we can bring dogs to work and it's the only place I've ever worked with music videos in the lobby and listening to my music is encouraged.

Cons – Like any other small company that's been acquired, it takes a while to get things straightened out between Samsung and us. Sometimes we don't get all the information we need but management told us they're working on it. We were a small company that's been growing so we don't have the processes yet that would make things easier.

Advice to Senior Management – More communication with your employees!

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

Current Employee – been working at mSpot full-time

Pros – They have hired some really good people. Sadly i am not sure they will stay but they do seem good at picking good people on a working level. Usual Silicon Valley perks are there too - great kitchen stocked with food and some really good catered food.

Also, as they offer no stock upside, they do compensate with good salary and benefits. The HR side is really trying to boost moral.

Cons – So its a bit like working for North Korea. You take orders from headquarters and march to whatever orders you are given. The saddest part honestly is the local management - a cross between clueless and checked out. As an engineer I watch the products and features we are asked to implement and just have to shake my head. Absolutely retarded directives with little correlation to the what users want. Most disturbing though is the management team just rolls over. Absolutely no backbone.

The environment is also very back stabbing and you will be thrown under the bus at the first possible opportunity. They seem to cultivate a culture of not taking responsibility for their choices. If your boss asks you to do something and its later deemed the wrong decision, he/she will throw you under the bus.

Internal processes are absolutely insane. They spent tons of money on a consulting company to "teach" them how to be agile but ignored almost all of what it means to be agile. Seems like Agile at mSpot means "use process to avoid accountability and delivery"

Advice to Senior Management – First - get a clue - ripping down reviews on glass door is not the way to make things look better. If people throw egg at you, its for a reason. Stand up, take it, hear what people have to say and fix the issue. You have major moral problems. Please wake up.

I think its great you are trying to improve by doing lunches and events - that great but it doesn't erase other more base issues. If you put someone in hell, a great lunch doesn't undo the torture you undergo the rest of the day. People want to build something meaningful and want you to enable them to make that happen.

Current Employee – been working at mSpot full-time for less than a year

Pros – mSpot was a start up company that lived the dream and was bought by the largest electronics manufacturer in the world. The co-owners that sold to Samsung are the current CTO and CEO and they experience the new world environment like everyone else. mSpot owned some of the most coveted patents in the digital and cloud music space and now they take advantage of that proprietary knowledge by building what could be a real game changer in the music world. The Leadership Team is approachable and open to new ideas. There are many people that have been with the company since day 1. The team is willing to work until the product is right. It is exciting to work in an environment where you know the breadth of opportunity is literally world wide and that your product will make a difference.

Cons – As far as downsides, the same as working for any large company. There will be communication issues, because tech companies are always moving and the message is always changing. The difference here is that if you ask a question, you will get an answer. Another con is the amount of work that is on the plate....but seriously, work means you have a job!

Advice to Senior Management – As with any job, the key to longevity with employees is communication and clear definition of goals and metrics. However, I really like working for mSpot especially as it is growing into its new life with Samsung. I really believe that upper Management is learning along the way too, which is cool to watch and to be a part of.

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

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

Pros – The people are great. You are treated well. The environment is casual. We have a tremendous impact on the world around us.

Cons – They are trying to put us in a bigger building. And for now, the environment is a bit cramp.

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

Current Employee – been working at mSpot

Pros – Dogs are allowed at work, fully stocked kitchen, nice people and generally low-stress. They allow employees to organize activities such as jogging and healthy-eating challenges during work hours.

Cons – Poor communication from management, management is indecisive in terms of project direction, low-pay compared to others. They hire a lot of recent grads probably to save money. But that means I'm on a team with other recent grads with no experience and therefore there is very little mentorship and no one to learn from.

Advice to Senior Management – If you must hire mostly recent grads it would be great if you could provide learning opportunities such as workshops and conferences.

Current Employee – been working at mSpot

Pros – Some benefits are awesome. Management is fairly flexible and forgiving. The engineers are top notch. Internal deadlines are usually reasonable.

Cons – Cheap cheap cheap. If it's not cheap, it's not mspot. There is also a lot of legacy burden in the products. The limited benefits to the legacy stuff is far outweighed by the drawbacks.

Advice to Senior Management – At this point, it seems like mSpot is playing the me too game. We're following others in terms of features and not really innovating.

Former Employee – worked at mSpot

Pros – Nicely stocked open kitchen. Open hours, sort of. Cool office space. That's really all I liked about the job. Some of my colleagues where cool.

Cons – Right tool for the job. Sounds good but at mSpot you can expect 40% funding for the tools you need. What kind of multimedia company chastises employees for using too much bandwidth while downloading updates? mSpot.

Advice to Senior Management – Listen to your experts. Communicate with your employees. Work at mSpot sucked. Too much effort required learning internal politics. It was very difficult working under a combination of incompetence and deception.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at mSpot

Pros – Good middle management.
Good work/life balance

Cons – Lack of clarity from senior management, on company direction or future strategies.
Lack of adequate mentoring of engineers.
Way too many fresh college grads, and thus not adequate mentoring for them.
Pay is below market rate.

Advice to Senior Management – Regular mentoring of engineers will lead to well rounded engineers.
Pay market rate salary to engineers.