Kong Reviews

Pros

Kong is a scaling startup that is growing fast. There's so much to do and for someone who likes to roll up their sleeves to get stuff done, then Kong will be a great fit. The remote culture allows for flexibility while working a schedule that is best for my mental health an family needs. The leadership is supportive with a grand vision to take over the API space. You have the opportunity to be part of something bigger than yourself at Kong. We are making a difference.

Cons

Due to the maturity of the organization not all processes and systems are in place to be efficient. We are working on that. Also, with changes in leadership there tends to be dissenters and people who speak negatively about the company. Employee changes are common for scaling startups to make sure the right people are on the bus. If you are not used to churn or rolling up your sleeves then Kong may not be the best fit.

Pros

I am usually not bothered to post on glassdoor or blind, I am inspired by the latest positive review (from Feb 14) to post this.... There is a spate of negative reviews, all about the US sales team. They all smack of disgruntled ex-employees that were fired as part of the rebuilding of the US sales team. It sucks that in Glassdoor those targeted reviews are giving an overall negative score for the company. Nothing can be farther from the truth. Overall the company is doing great, it is growing very well and has a very well respected product suite with a huge opensource community behind it. The company is very transparent and all the figures are shared with all employees. I don't know much about sales or the US sales team, but whatever changes they did there are working. US sales figures are through the roof and I from what I can see, I think the changes are working. I am very glad I am with Kong. This company has the money, the customer base and the growth. Thank you, whoever you are dear poster from Feb 14 for inspiring me to post too. The campaign of targeted negative reviews by a small number of fired US sales should not be allowed to taint an otherwise great company.

Cons

read the pros. I am positing because I got inspired

Pros

Kong is an extremely fast-growing startup that provides sales professionals with the tools they need to grow personally and professionally. Employees are treated with respect, over-achievers are recognized and compensated generously for their contributions. Great place to work if you thrive in a startup culture.

Cons

Startup cultures aren't for everyone. Potential candidates should be prepared to wear multiple hats. As a lean startup, Kong doesn't have all the resources of a well-established enterprise so employees have to do more with less as the company pushes forward aggressively to exceed their goals.

Pros

The Product is really respected in the marketplace and performs. The current Product and Engineering leadership seem to know what they are doing and their teams like their work for the most part.

Cons

This company has churned through SO MANY mid to senior level managers over the last few years. They have a story for why people came and went, but that story is only a half truth once you get the real story. They admit to having made a bad VP of Sales hire in the past, but then repeat it by hiring yet another toxic Enterprise Sales leader who clearly went to the Glengarry Glen Ross school of sales leadership. He is a bully, bad mouths his own people in meetings, and prides himself on making really fast snap judgments without any additional perspective. The CS team has had an absentee interim VP of CS for over a year. Great PS engineers and all of the lower level leadership have all churned or been let go. They intentionally under invest in this function, and then expect the team to be effective with too many customers to manage. Here are some other lowlights: *You can look forward to receiving your comp plan so late, you have no opportunity to hit it. It is nothing but excuses as to why you get it with 3 weeks left to go in the quarter. * When there are serious issues, senior leadership is more interested in finding blame than addressing issues or even simply offering to help. *If you get promoted, you will get saddled with all of the problems and responsibilities of that new role on day 1, but you will not get the formal title or pay bump for months as they string you along. It is common to be stuck in this mode for 6+ months before you get the formal recognition for the role you have been performing.

Pros

If you are reading this review, I encourage you to read all of the reviews here on Glassdoor. I have read them all and I am grateful that our leadership continues to learn from both current and former employees to try and make this company better. There have been a LOT of terrible remarks said on here that completely rip our Americas Enterprise Sales Teams to shreds, but what most failed to mention is that we have completely revamped our leadership team in this area and Kong is already starting to see the benefits of these changes. We have many new faces that are ICs that are just scratching the surface. Changes that have only been in place for a few quarters. Good people, hardworking people that believe in our product and want to make Kong a better place. I feel EXTREMELY positive about the early returns of these new people and I am excited about our future here at Kong. We have a long way to go and a lot of hard work ahead of us but we are continuing to make changes for the better. Start-ups are hard. Successful start-ups, even harder. Process is still being built, enablement is still being built, operations is still being built! We are building while still trying to grow the business! Every person here still has a HUGE opportunity to make a difference.

Cons

We are a start-up environment. Things move fast, things change fast, and not every person is perfect. Kong tries to hire really good people but at the end of the day, there are always going to be some bad apples. I don't think we have many and I think what sometimes people do not see is what is being done to help those people be better. If you are looking for a perfect environment, I am not sure where you find that.

Pros

Decent pay Cool coworkers Good product

Cons

I can’t agree with the previous reviews enough regarding the NA Sales function at Kong. From the moment I joined, people were being let go or quit weekly. This company does not invest in their employees and as a result, there is a huge churn and burn problem. The culture is horrible and there is no intention to change. If you want to be cared for at your workplace and feel like a valued member of your team, avoid Kong. You are genuinely just a number at this company.

Pros

There are some genuinely good people here......and the products are as advertised.

Cons

Unfortunately, none of the "good people" I mentioned are in sales leadership. The previous negative reviews posted on Glassdoor, specifically around the Enterprise Sales Org in NA, are as real as it gets. I'm not writing this to pile on those negative reviews, but rather to genuinely offer strong guidance to anyone considering taking a sales role at Kong......unless it is your absolute only available option, avoid this place at all costs. The red flags you've undoubtedly noticed in the interview process aren't figments of your imagination, they are very real and even worse the closer you get to them. Save your sanity and, unless significant changes have been made to the VP/GM level of the Enterprise Sales org at the time of this post, take a pass on these folks.

Pros

A lot of things are happening and there are many opportunity to learn new technologies. It is also very nice to have the opportunity to contribute back to the Open Source community.

Cons

The bar is quite high.

Pros

Love the culture, people here are very open minded + friendly. They want you to succeed

Cons

a lot of internal shifts and changes make it hard to stay consistent.- very complex and multi-faceted product. if in sales can be hard/

Pros

Working at Kong is an opportunity to help build and grow a company. It’s exciting and fulfilling.

Cons

It can be busy and chaotic at times. Be patient and be persistent.