Pros
When I first joined SODA, it genuinely felt incredible — the kind of workplace people dream about. We were small, close-knit, passionate, and genuinely proud to be part of something exciting. The culture had heart, talent, humour, and that real start-up spark that makes you WANT to get up in the morning. Those early days were the best part of the story.
Cons
Everything started going downhill the moment leadership clearly discovered the phrase “hyper growth” on LinkedIn and decided it was a personality trait rather than a business strategy. Overnight, the plan became: “Grow. No, faster. Hire everyone. Open everywhere. Bigger = better, right?” It had the strategic depth of someone following motivational quotes instead of an actual roadmap. From there, the company’s trajectory could best be described as a slow-motion Titanic reenactment. Beautiful ship, talented crew, heading straight toward an iceberg made of ego, while the captain yelled, “This is how we become the BEST!” Meanwhile, everyone on deck could hear the hull cracking. A tidal wave of completely inexperienced grads arrived all at once, with minimal structure or support. The high-performing billers — the people who actually kept the company afloat — were shoved into management roles they didn’t ask for, weren’t trained for, and weren’t supported in. Their performance dropped, their income dropped, and their reward was… more responsibility and more chaos. Inspirational. Then came the favouritism. Promotions often looked less like thoughtful decisions and more like names pulled from a hat — with a noticeable lean toward male employees being elevated regardless of experience or leadership ability. Meanwhile, people who had genuinely earned progression were repeatedly overlooked. Leadership remained fully committed to the “grow grow grow” narrative, fuelled by ego, denial, and a refusal to acknowledge the widening cracks. Reality was optional. Buzzwords were mandatory. And the loudest message of all? Almost every original staff member — the ones who built SODA’s early culture and success — eventually left. Not a coincidence. Not “normal turnover.” A very clear signal that leadership chose the iceberg.
