Pros
I joined the company four years ago, and at that point, the company was four years into business—eight years of history in total. I wasn't comfortable or ready to write a review until now. The founders were very approachable, and the people whom I worked with and worked under were great to work with too. I managed to contribute a few ideas that were taken forward by the first managers and the founders, and I implemented some. There seemed to be no objections to my contributions from what I can remember. I still value some of the professional and personal connections I have made through the company.
Cons
The company had a great start, but the environment began to shift dramatically. Operational Immaturity & Administration: Initially, there were issues with payments which underscored the unstable nature of the company. These were quickly resolved on my end, and one of the managing directors was very understanding. While a subsequent form (including the Starter Checklist) resolved tax issues, it highlighted administrative immaturity. The task of getting employees to fill out this compliance form may have been an attempt to release an administrative burden on a strained team, though this might've of been burdensome for some employees. This may have been a consequence for some employees not getting paid correctly or on time because they hadn't filled out the starter checklist that would allow them to be paid on time. Strategic Failure & Toxicity: The operational issues were secondary to the major downfall, which was caused by mistakes from the founders and the pressure they likely received from investors to hire and then fire (that’s venture capital for you 😅). During the period when layoffs started, the culture turned severely toxic: My new direct managers engaged in harassment and actions that I believe violated the terms of my contract. They misrepresented my performance until I confronted one of the managers, who then admitted the claims were false. Her justification was incredibly petty: it was because I "didn't acknowledge her existence." This environment led me to feel that everyone was against me, causing significant anxiety at the time. (I’ve mostly healed and can joke about it now.) This incident led me to personally contact a member of the senior management team about the ongoing impact (late at night - underscoring the intense fear and anxiety I was experiencing). One of the managing directors responded with urgent concern early the next morning. His message conveyed a sense of concern, but eventually, this meeting didn't take place (not sure why) and it was decided it was best for me to go on garden leave until my contract ended. Though the management team and Human Resources personnel offered different reasons for this, I believe, in reality it was just an attempt to remove me from an environment that was harming me and to mitigate any conflict and legal liability that could arise from addressing the managers' behavior. This also underscores the many failures at play. This toxicity underscores the evolving, unstable nature of the company and the types of people it fostered. As a young intern, I had little oversight of the risks. From hindsight, I now understand the firings and toxic environment were not personal, or even intented to be malicious; they were the unfortunate cost of mistakes and investor pressures placed upon many employees. To add, there were investors included in the company board. The investors may have had a significant portion of company shares (meaning their vote would've been needed to pass on certain resolutions that could not be passed on by either founder themselves, and combining the founder's stake of the company, potential naivety to push back on these pressures or having no choice to back away because risk of loosing money by investors drawing in their money back, these likely led to the outcomes that occured. Legal Vigilance (NDAs): There were NDAs and processes that felt confusing. I later understood that the NDA's primary purpose was a strategic business decision to protect company ideas and avoid high-level legal issues (like a potential Elon-Musk-situation). While legally sound, this level of vigilance for every employee contributed to a tense environment and made people feel they had to walk on eggshells. There was a lot of miscommunication that was going on, and this was an example of it.