Problems at the top; lack of transparency in all things - Product BrightBytes Employee Review

2.0
Jul 29, 2016
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Compassionate, warm, hard-working people in every department. A set of products that seem to be doing tremendous good for the existing educational system without trying to 'disrupt' the whole system but instead enhance it. Who can't be woo'd by the promise of preventing student dropout? The team as a whole is able to accomplish a ton of work in a year. Shipping multiple different products and selling them to many schools, districts, ESAs and states quickly. Building systems that allow for rapid agile development of new products, and processes to connect those products with customers in useful ways.

Cons

No transparency. Really opaque communication with employees about company progress, fundraising and management changes. No compelling sense that company will continue to grow and be successful, or even deserves to. Storied history of CEOs, the listed CEO (Rob) is now out and replaced with Traci Burgess; previous CEO was rude, disconnected from employees and seemingly has a god complex. Rest of management was generally compassionate and connected with employees, if a bit inexperienced with growing a company beyond a small startup size. Oh, and, the office itself is awful. Depressing lighting, construction and layout literally divided the sales and product teams with a wall. The culture presented itself with deadline-driven stress, allowed for strife among employees and tense meetings, tense conversations becoming common place.

Explore other reviews about BrightBytes

5.0
Mar 10, 2024
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

It was great. Miss the team.

Cons

It was bought and many people laid off

4.0
Mar 17, 2025
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

I had a good experience working at BrightBytes. The environment offered valuable learning opportunities and exposure to different aspects of the business. The mission was compelling, and I appreciated working alongside some talented colleagues..

Cons

The company had some growing pains that come with most early stage startups. Sometimes the communication and priorities from leadership were unclear.

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