Great Working Environment, but no Growth Potential & Some Management Issues - Technology MobileSmith Employee Review

3.0
Jan 22, 2015
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

A genuinely fun place to work - with a casual working environment, and a relatively close-knit community. It's a small company, so you'll get to know everyone - for better or worse. Some fun company events, and the development team is a lot lower-pressure than some other dev teams I've worked with.

Cons

Compensation is a pretty big issue. MobileSmith pays around 70% of the market rate for comparable dev positions within the Triangle area - and the additional "perks" aren't really worth it. Small 401K match, TriNet administered healthcare, etc. A company loyalty program that basically amounts to a popularity contest. Developers are contacted weekly by recruiters, and it gets very tempting to jump ship. The biggest problem is the complete lack of future growth/potential. As a public company, the quarterly reports are posted on the website - and they aren't comforting to employees that are looking to make a long-term career in the company, since there are constant issues of going concern regarding the low revenues and high debt levels. Overall, I'd say that this would be a good choice for 6 months to a year after graduating from a computer science program, but that it wouldn't be a good bet for anything more than an entry level gig. Investing the time in learning the proprietary systems / software doesn't seem worth it, because I can't see a long term future in the company's products or services.

Explore other reviews about MobileSmith

5.0
Oct 14, 2023
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Team is very smart and leadership empowers all of us

Cons

Sales team needs to improve.

1.0
Apr 18, 2017
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Some of the nicest, most professional and hard-working people in the industry. All-star development team and, formerly, management team until some unfortunate things started happening.

Cons

The leader (current CEO) declares great principles - nurturing employees; giving credit where it's due; resolving differences - but only applies them to people he likes. People he dislikes, on the other hand, are scapegoated; stifled; never given proper credit, and even publicly shamed. Double standards are rampant. Mediocrities are coddled at the expense of talented people. Women seem to be especially targeted for abuse and intellectual pilfering. The churn is very high, particularly in sales and marketing. Morale has taken a dive. The CEO desperately tries to whip it up at "all hands" meetings, but most employees, I think, see through the smoke. The company has been stagnating below the red line for years, and "get to break-even" does not sound like an inspiring goal any more. When the leader is in love with his product and prone to angrily shutting out alternative perspectives, stagnation is pretty much a given. Systematic market research is nonexistent. Product strategy is ad-hoc; based entirely on assumptions. Arrogance may sell, but it does not keep customers. Many of them have already left.

7
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