Pros
- Building interesting new tech stack using lots of open source
- Shakeup in company 12-18 months ago means lots of opportunity now
- CEO really believes in developing every employee for their own benefit too, not just the company's... this makes for more of an "alliance" rather than an old-fashioned employee relationship.
- Great work life balance, very results oriented... this means you have to deliver value and pull your weight in your team, but if you do then your schedule can be quite flexible.
- Good balance of sympathy for circumstances and doing what's best for the business... yes sometimes people have to go, but in my experience this is done with compassion. Keeping teams high performing and adapting to the business as it changes takes some tough decisions but the team is generally healthier for it.
- Open culture means everyone has the potential to see their ideas realized in the product.
- Free Monday lunch, often other days too for Lunch and Learns and tech talks. Copious snacks.
- Competitive salaries pegged to market and comprehensive benefits.
- No stack ranking for performance evaluations! Your performance is your performance, if your entire team rocks, your entire team rocks and you won't be adjusted just to fit a curve.
- Nice, fun people with minimal politics compared to other places I've been.
- "Established startup" means Hightail is profitable and stable which is a nice place to be in rather than feeling the pressure of a burn rate with a short horizon.
- Despite all the changes 12-18 months ago, there are a lot of people here who have been with the company 3+ years, so there is more stability than you would think. Remaining people believe in the vision and direction of the company.
- It is a different company compared to 18 months ago. It is really impressive to see a company as old as Hightail successfully pivot.
Cons
- Free wheeling open culture means you have to provide some of your own structure and direction. Opportunities are there but you have to reach out and grab them and show you deserve them. Only a con if you prefer more structure provided for you.
- Moving fast means communication suffers sometimes... you have to work harder to keep your colleagues apprised of where you are going and vice versa.
- Hightail isn't shy about letting low performers go, or even high performers who just don't fit with the business anymore. Communication could be better here, sometimes people just disappear.
