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      Cotopaxi

      Engaged Employer

      Cotopaxi reviews

      3.1

      44% would recommend to a friend

      (136 total reviews)

      Lindsay Shumlas

      46% approve of CEO

      44% positive business outlook

      Ratings by demographic groups

      Cotopaxi has an employee rating of 3.1 out of 5 stars, based on 136 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Cotopaxi employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Retail & Wholesale industry (3.5 stars).

      Reviews by job title

      136 reviews
      2.0
      Dec 13, 2018

      Disappointing

      Anonymous employee
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      small company, ability to make an impact as long as you can navigate the politics

      Cons

      below average compensation, no 401k. in terms of environmental and social impact, the company is genuinely focused on "doing good". But within the company and its professional contacts, people are routinely mistreated and taken advantage of. The culture is friendly, but superficial and closed minded, with a large dose of hubris mixed in. If you're a good "cultural fit" (read: white conservative), you may like it. If not, you're going to have a bad time.

      avatar
      Cotopaxi Response
      7y
      I genuinely appreciate the feedback. When an employee leaves a company or is let go, you often get some of the most authentic feedback, so thank you for taking the time to let us know about your experience. There are a few things I'd like to address: 1. Compensation: Our compensation is technically a little above average when measuring for salaries for similar jobs in Salt Lake City. That said, we are a startup. If you're looking to get the highest possible job, this probably isn't going to be the place to work. We're a team of people passionate about our social impact mission, about the outdoors, and about building something together. People work here because they love being a part of the Cotopaxi family. Compensation is probably a secondary priority. 2. 401k: We are a startup, and like most startups, we indeed did not have a 401k from 2014 - 2018, but nearly every employee gets equity in the business so that they own a piece of the business - with an upside as it grows. However, we are launching a 401k in Q1 of 2019, so we'll officially have a 401k in place in 2019, which I'm especially excited about. 3. I'm not exactly sure how to address the culture feedback. All I can say is that my experience and the experience of many others has been different from what you've experienced. I'm sorry that it felt superficial and that it fell short of your expectations. It's something I'm going to take back to my team and see how we can improve. One thing I would like to point out ... hearing Cotopaxi described as a "conservative" culture is a little confusing and surprising to me. We actively support causes with refugees. We have very liberal policies around paternity leave. It's hard to address politics, but the majority of our senior leadership are implants from California or the East Coast, which aren't traditionally conservative. That said, many of our younger employees are from Utah, which is certainly more conservative. I suppose your experience in this area is largely impacted by the people you interact with most within the company. Super interesting feedback. Definitely something for me to think about. Thanks again for taking the time to let us know about your experience, and I'm sorry it was a disappointing experience for you. Davis Smith, Founder & CEO
      5.0
      Jul 20, 2018

      A good place to be.

      Warehouse manager
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      - Leadership cares about the people here. I came from another outdoor industry distribution center, and the difference here is like night and day. Outside of fulfillment over there, no one cared about the people in the warehouse. Executives here make a concerted effort to get to know everyone that moves our products. It's refreshing and other companies could learn from them. - Change is a constant. You will learn more about your field, develop skills to accomplish new tasks that present themselves, and become a well-rounded employee/professional. Personal development is always happening. - Everyone here was drawn to Cotopaxi for it's mission and values. So we all have common ground from the moment we join the company. I know that 2% of everything I do is directly benefiting worthy causes. I think B Corps are the future of business, and we are showing everyone that we can succeed without giving up the core value of giving back.

      Cons

      - Compensation is an area that could use improvement, whether that is a 401k match or in some other form. Being a startup this is understandably tight. Culture and benefits like the stock options do make up for a lot of this. They don't pay the most, but they don't pay the least. They are upfront about it and are aware that this is something that needs to be a focus in the future. Honestly, if compensation is the most important thing on your career checklist, Cotopaxi is probably not the place for you. - There is always more work to do than time to do it. It's rough, but you learn to rely on others to help and that in turn builds close knit teams. - I would love to have more opportunity to take advantage of the wild time program and the unlimited vacation. It's awesome that we have it to begin with, but it can be tough to make that work/life balance happen.

      2.0
      Mar 24, 2026

      Most recent reviews are Exec gaslighting. No change has happened

      Anonymous employee
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      The people who work here are great, hardworking and most importantly believe in the brand to have stuck through all of the chaos and toxicity. The sustainability and impact part of Cotopaxi is very inspiring to employees and it feels good to be part of doing good, this is why people want to be here. The products are great and Cotopaxi is a great brand that has just been mismanaged and has lost its soul, values and direction.

      Cons

      All of the most recent reviews are obviously from the leadership and exec team that instead of really doing the work of changing and creating a better working environment are focused on outside perception. This speaks volumes to the manipulation and gaslighting that the teams feel. There is no accountably for the exec team to change, so it falls on short staffed teams to do all of the work and make sure there is some stability.

      avatar
      Cotopaxi Response
      2mo
      Thank you for taking the time to share this and for recognizing the team, the mission, and the brand. We recognize the concerns behind your feedback. We know trust is built through consistent follow-through, clear accountability, and alignment between what’s communicated and what teams experience day to day. We're actively working to close the gap between what we say and what teams experience, and we’re holding ourselves accountable to that by how we show up as leaders, team members, how we live our values and mission and in the consistency of the experience across the organization.
      Viewing 31 - 33 of 136 Reviews
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      ReviewsCotopaxi reviews

      Glassdoor has 150 Cotopaxi reviews submitted anonymously by Cotopaxi employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Cotopaxi is right for you.