Pros
This review may be irrelevant depending on the company’s current status, as it may be out of business by the time you are reading this. I have been at Disco for a few years. I would recommend focusing on real indicators like year-over-year headcount and revenue growth (which you may ask during your interview if we ever hire again), not the glowing 5-star reviews, which tend to come from individuals favored by the executive team. I will be the first to admit that the biggest positive at Disco is what the people in the trenches bring to the table. The positives outside of that which others have mentioned are frequently overshadowed by a reactive (often toxic) leadership culture stemming from prominent (not all) members of C-suite. Many early-career employees are taken advantage of, lacking the experience to recognize red flags or push back effectively. This company is built on a graveyard of high performers who were let go under no fault of their own. Knowing that, I sometimes feel guilty going on the fancy trips we throw for either the team or our brand partners.
Cons
TL; DR, the most concerning issue at Disco is not the lack of talent at the individual level, but rather the absence of capable and accountable leadership and strategic foresight, particularly on the executive team. Major risks, such as investors pivoting from partner to direct competitor or key vendors being acquired, were either not identified early or not acted on with seriousness. What remains is a company marked by missed opportunities, high attrition, and a shrinking competitive moat. • Leadership Failures: Repeated missteps at the executive level, like doubling down on costly low-ROI internal projects and rehiring only to restructure again a year later, reflect poor judgment on the executive team, not poor talent as some have mentioned. C-suite execs are quick to cut entire teams without course correction, even when those teams are high-performing. • Instability & Blame Culture: Company performance issues and unfavorable market conditions trigger layoffs, not reflection. Firings often feel arbitrary and reactive, creating a culture where accountability flows down, not up. Frequent turnover means the company reinvents itself every year, losing continuity and trust. Unless you are close to the executives, any employee outside of the C-suite is disposable if the numbers do not work out. • Lack of Direction: There are no longer experienced leaders in core parts of the business (product, design, tech, etc.) which makes it difficult to coordinate and prioritize customers with a sense of urgency. Decision-making is centralized in the hands of executives who are out of their depth, which leads to misaligned priorities and a lack of innovation (copying competitors we used to joke about!). Customer needs are often deprioritized unless they align with executive agendas. The company has not been truly focused on the customer since before I joined. Instead, we are putting up smoke and mirrors trying to keep the ship afloat with rather reactive tactics and brittle partnerships. • Uneven Investment Across Teams: The company is run like a dealership, very heavy on sales while trying to maintain our brand inventory. Unsurprisingly, Sales and Customer Success (where the executive team has backgrounds) are relatively well-resourced and regularly see raises and bonuses. All other functions: product, design, engineering, marketing, and business, see the opposite. • Leadership Transparency (of the wrong kind): There was at least one all-hands where a C-suite exec candidly admitted that they weren't doing any work, yet has the power to cut entire teams who contribute greatly to the bottom line. It’s hard to imagine anyone outside the executive team being allowed to say such a thing without consequences.
