Pros
Order Desk lives and breathes its company values from the top down. The leadership team radiates empathy and generosity, the engineers are constantly offering tips and pointers to support, and the support team treats customers like real people.
Balance is encouraged, so much so that if someone hasn't taken enough time off, they'll be "kicked out" for a few days to get some sunlight, and mental health days are commonplace. We do our best work when we're filled up, and from my experience, the company is REALLY filled up.
Personal and professional growth is also both encouraged and facilitated. Order Desk has given many people opportunities beyond their professional experience and education and watched each person rise to exceed the challenge. If I had worked anywhere else, it would have taken me many years to end up on the growth track that I've pursued here.
Order Desk also proves daily that they value input and collaboration. I've seen new features get built in 15 minutes after a customer or team member suggests one. I've never seen anything like it before, and it happens more often than I'd expect here.
I've been on meetings where most of the participants were either kids or dogs, played games with people quite literally on the other side of the world, and shared meals with people who felt more like family than people I see in person once a year. Culture is managed exceptionally here.
Speaking of which, getting to work with so many diverse people from so many parts of the world has been so culturally fascinating to me. I've learned so much about the world and met so many incredible, intelligent people thanks to the company's investment in changing people's lives.
Cons
When a company is bootstrapped, certain seasons can be more of a grind than others, but the tradeoff is that without investors, you get a lot more freedom to make your own choices.
The health benefits are comparable to those of a much smaller company, which can be attributed to the speed of our growth. Company leadership has made it evident that they're actively working on exploring new options that match our current needs.