The company has no real structure. Expectations changed often and were rarely communicated clearly, which made it hard to prioritize or feel confident in what was expected. There was a lot of micromanagement, but also a lack of direction—decisions were made on the fly, and priorities shifted constantly.
Meetings were frequently canceled last minute or held with no agenda or follow-up. Projects were often assigned to multiple people at once without coordination, which led to confusion, duplicated efforts, and unclear ownership. Feedback was asked for regularly, but wasn’t taken seriously. It felt risky to speak up, and over time, most people just stopped trying.
The company’s identity is closely tied to the CEO’s personal brand, which makes her leadership style inseparable from the culture. There was a noticeable disconnect between the executive team and the rest of the company. The CEO often skipped meetings to take personal trips and frequently spoke about her luxury vacations during team calls, which made it feel like her focus was elsewhere. That level of disengagement affected morale and left the team without consistent direction. Decisions were often made without visibility into how they would affect the day-to-day reality of the people expected to execute them.
There was a lot of pressure to appear "all in" all the time. Big revenue goals were set from the top down with no input from the team, and we were expected to buy in—even when the goals weren’t realistic. Employees were then held to the metrics tied to those goals, regardless of how attainable they actually were. Urgency was constant. Work-life balance was difficult to maintain, and even PTO didn’t feel like a break. There was always an expectation to check in, stay available, and be up-to-date the minute you return.
Pay and benefits didn’t match the workload. Raises were brought up repeatedly, but never followed through on. The health insurance was expensive, there was no 401(k), and perks were minimal. For a company that says it’s “people-obsessed,” the support just wasn’t there.
Boundaries weren’t always respected. There were moments where personal or sensitive information was shared without permission, and religion came up regularly in company-wide meetings. Comments were sometimes made about people’s food or drink choices. These moments made things uncomfortable and felt out of place in a professional environment.
Executive leadership spoke often about transparency, but the reality felt more performative. Many key decisions were made quietly, with limited visibility or context for the broader team.
These challenges weren’t isolated to one department—they were felt across the company.
