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SmartBrief

Acquired by Future

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SmartBrief...great company, great culture! - Anonymous employee SmartBrief Employee Review

4.0
Jul 30, 2013
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

SmartBrief delivers and excellent product for B2B advertisers that yield results. In the crowded B2B world, email is king and SmartBrief has that figured out. Professionally, the company has 2 high quality modern offices--DC/NY, with a great culture and a real understanding of work/life balance. Nobody is looking over your shoulder. There is an inherent trust that we are all adults and we are all self-motivated and that we want to do a good job. So if you have to stay home to meet the cable guy, that's ok. Do your job, get online and work as if you were in the office. No problem.

Cons

The organization is a bit too flat. It is great for young people, but hard to grow the more senior you are in title/experience. When you've gotten all you can out of the organization you need to look outside for the next opportunity. I have seen excellent talent walk out the door due to limited opportunities. As with many a small company, the growth opportunities are limited so you have to be prepared to check your ambitions at the door.

Explore other reviews about SmartBrief

5.0
Aug 26, 2021
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Work life balance is encouraged, wonderful people, expectations are clear, great vacation policy, good perks

Cons

Lining up coverage for vacation takes some time

2.0
May 4, 2016
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

I loved the people I worked with. SmartBrief is a good place to work as an entry- and mid-level employee. Because it operates in so many different industries it offers a unique, high-level overview of the mechanics behind various industries and types of businesses. The motto, "save busy professionals time and keep them smart" may not be an earth-shattering aspiration, but it affords a nice sense of contributing positively to the world. The core product is a good one.

Cons

As one gets closer to senior management, dysfunctional aspects of the leadership structure become apparent. The CEO and CFO are co-founders, and it's not clear who is in charge. The CFO is hands off. I'm not confident he understands the needs of the business in an era of tough competition. The CEO is largely hands off, but will occasionally involve himself--often after the fact--in lower-level decisions like the design of marketing collateral and entry-level hiring. The CEO's behavior is generally inconsistent. He seems to change his mind repeatedly about small things, which causes an unhelpful amount of confusion and factionalism in the management ranks. If there is a larger strategy for growth and innovation, other than "do what we're doing, but more of it," it has not been fully communicated.

8
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