Auctane reviews

Auctane itself was a former group of subsidiaries of Stamps.com. Stamps was acquired by Thoma Bravo and our CEO exited. The keys to the kingdom were handed over to Auctane leadership. In six short months, Auctane dismantled the essence of the company’s success. Now that they ruled the roost, there was a strange desire to undo the “Stamps” way — the way that made the company what it is. Of course, acquisitions happen, and in theory, the best parts of the former parent company and Auctane could have formed an amazing new company. Sadly, this isn’t what happened. Auctane promoted their people in Austin, overlooking the wealth of talent in CA, Atlanta and beyond. It felt as if anything associated with the parent company was tarnished, and needed to be thrown out immediately. As a result, there was no curiosity from Auctane about this new success they inherited and how to keep it going, and a lack of humility when faced with their own ineptitude. So began a steady regimen of stonewalling, gaslighting, and many other toxic maneuvers aimed at senior leaders, middle management and individuals. People would be dismissed, ignored, or simply have their work taken away without warning, paving the way for waves of resignations. Employees felt like they were easily replaced. Even if you’re “safe”, don’t expect career growth- your managers are likely overworked, under-appreciated, and trying to fight too many fires (from bad management decisions at the top) to keep track of you. I would say this only applies to non-Austin folks, but I can’t believe that people in Austin are treated much better. Management have a vision of the company that benefits themselves, and anyone who questions it, looks for a better way, desires transparency and accountability, or just wants to be treated with respect is shown the door or made so uncomfortable they leave. Organizationally, they are a mess. It’s not a true agile environment, and you may luck out and sit on a team where the leaders have it together, but keep in mind that their directives can change on a whim and you’ll be left disoriented and disengaged (communication is often last-minute and not well thought out). Leadership and HR are not introspective. They give platitudes and speak corporate-speak well, but their actions are callous.

Ever since the acquisition by Thoma Bravo, Auctane seem to be going out of their way to undermine the foundation of what made the company so attractive and profitable in the first place. The team that built the company is almost entirely gone. The reins of the company were handed over to the Austin office and they seem intent on rolling back the clock and acting like and making all of the mistakes of a startup, ignoring the knowledge base and advice of more senior and experienced minds in favor of their Austin based friends. It isn't only executives and senior management that left the building, the people that do the day-to-day work of keeping a company of that size running smoothly have left in frustration from being ignore, overworked, and sidelined all at once. It is only after the people have given notice that the Austin team scrambles to try and learn what they do, asking for the advice they had ignored all along. They have resorted to paying people to be consultants because they don't know how to perform the vital functions that keep a company moving forward. The California team continues to work from home which helps to shield the average employee from the reality of the situation, they are often shocked when they hear about the people that are no longer with the company People who have thought their positions were safe sometimes discover too late that they were not. If you tough it out to make the best of it, if they decide they don't like you they will find or create excuses to let you go regardless of performance, this will take the form of conflicting directions and setting you up for failure. The California team continues to try and promote a culture of community but without the support of the Austin office it doesn’t get much traction. Expect not to know much about what’s going on at the headquarters either because you won’t know about the Austin only Slack channel.