This place is a chaotic whirlwind of smart people doing amazing work
Pros
This isn't my first ride on the startup train -- I've been a consultant to startups for more than 15 years. So I get it that everyone says their startup is the best place to work *ever*, gets blinded by the VC hype, only to have their culture crumble when the going gets tough. Instead of perpetuating that hyperbole, I'll enumerate the qualities that make Dutchie my favorite workplace that I've participated in over my career spanning at least 2 decades. My wife of 10 years says she's never seen me happier at work, and she's right. 1) Perhaps most importantly, one of the core traits found in the management of this company is thorough and thoughtful introspection. This manifests as "First Principles Thinking" as a core business value. It shows up in everything from our People Operations initiatives to engineering process. People ask, "Why are we doing this?" on a daily basis, and the question is taken seriously, no matter who asked it. I have seen the most junior engineer ask the CEO to explain why we are doing something, and the question gets answered fully, and honestly. Similarly, when you give feedback to someone here, it's very obvious that the feedback is read, considered, and often is incorporated. If you say, "hey we should have disability insurance as a benefit" and then 2 months later the company offers disability insurance, it's hard to say you have had no impact. 2) Companies that say, "We have a fun culture" are generally lying. So I won't say it. I will share this instead: as a remote-hybrid company since inception, Dutchie has worked very hard to gel their entire team through extracurriculars that are impossible not to participate in. For an example, take yourself over to YouTube and watch "Dolly's 9 to 5 - Chip's Version". Ask yourself if you'd want to work for a company that produced such a hilarious gem. 3) When a company says, "we work hard and play hard" they're usually minimizing the truth about the first part and overselling the truth about the second part. At Dutchie, we work hard as hell. Like, really hard. But Dutchie also insists that vacation is important. If you haven't taken your vacation, someone will insist that you do. Not, "when you can". Not, "if you can." But rather: "You haven't taken any time off, schedule a break as soon as possible!" 4) There is so much opportunity here to take on more responsibility than that for which you are hired. If you want to get a shot at doing something bigger than you are used to, and you are ambitious, and you can perform, then you can find a way to make it happen here. I've never seen so many promotions from within the existing staff happen at any company, ever.
Cons
No company is perfect, and Dutchie is no exception. There are growing pains. There are times when we sacrifice efficiency for speed and thereby take on technical debt. At times, priorities can change in confusing ways. And since so many people have performed well and been promoted, you will encounter people who are new at their new, expanded roles -- and sometimes they make mistakes. This stuff happens everywhere, though, and while there are some real challenges here, they're far outweighed by the positive traits.
