Unfortunately, none of the above matters anymore. This company used to have a fantastic culture, work/life balance and many employees had very long tenures. All of that is changing now. If you're thinking of working here: don't. It will only continue to slide downhill. Here are the things causing this decline:
1) CEO in over his head - Current CEO took over a few years back and has driven off almost everyone in upper management in that short time. Unrealistic deadlines and expectations are now the norm. The direction of the business changes every couple of months and everyone is left scrambling to help enact changes that will only be revoked three months later. Everyone is constantly chasing their tails. No one stands up to him, which leads to the same problems that keep persisting.
2) CRO hire was a big miss - A new Chief Revenue Officer started around a year ago and has been slowly driving the company into the ground. Our BDR channel was scrapped, re-hired and then scrapped again all within a six month period. The experiment with "outbound" sales was ambitious but most of those reps are missing quota or quitting. We recruit promising massive OTEs but very few reps hit goal. It's her way or the highway and most people are choosing the highway. However, her worst miss is blatant nepotism. Tons of leadership hires have been made from her friends and former colleagues, or friends of friends, etc. None of them know what they are doing. Decisions are being made that ignore the realities of every day employees. Unrealistic goals are being committed to that teams can't possibly complete. Everyone is living under constant pressure and told to "figure it out" and "get it done" while burnout sets in.
3) Key employees leaving - The people with institutional knowledge to make Houzz thrive have left in droves. In the last six months, the following people have left: VP HR, VP Client Success, VP of Sales Ops, the Director of Sales Training as well as a good portion of the top salespeople. This level of knowledge and skill is not easily replaced. This company will struggle without it. Every day I hear about more people getting out. If the getting was good, these people definitely would have stayed. They must know something everyday employees don't.
