Pond5

Application

I applied online. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at Pond5 (New York, NY) in December 2017.

Interview

I applied online, a few months later I had a phone interview with the VP of Sales. She's excellent and really sounds like a cool person. After that I was called in for an inperson interview. Met with the Chief Revenue Officer, a leader within the sales team, and had a call with the Chief People Officer. Overall, I think they are a really good company. Just because I didn't get the job doesn't mean they are bad. I know its because the CRO didn't like me from the start and he had just been there 5 days. I'm probably outing myself to the company with that comment. I can't tell if he was trying to flex his new power or he wasn't used to interviewing people but his body language said he didn't respect me or want to be speaking to me at all. He was slouching to the point where he was practically lying down. Problem is, I can't tell if it was about me or he recognized my families last name considering my dad was the investment banker that brokered all the major >$500 million media deals in the 90s. Most people hate him unless you're the Newhouse family or Rupert Murdoch. Regardless, I think that's where I lost them. John, Emily, and Karen all seem like incredible people and I actually hope to work with them in some capacity in the future. I think if the CRO was a VC hire then they made a mistake in it because he doesn't seem to fit into the culture they were building. I'd assume someone who gets that C-level position would be really excited and positive to build their team. He genuinely didn't want to be there and will probably say different to the Chief People Officer, but it should warrant enough concern for the culture that the VC's should understand what's going on internally. Mostly because he didn't have a response for when I asked about New Neutrality and how it would affect the business, and he said he didn't like music or film (a problem if you work for a music and film stock licensing company). After a week I received a kind rejection email. I think their enterprise business has potential to be great with the right people. The next 3 years should be pivotal for them. I truly wish the best of luck for them. I had as great an experience interviewing as I possibly could with a company that I didn't get an offer from.

Interview Questions