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Mothership Strategies

Engaged Employer

Good place to learn, bad place to work - Digital Strategist Mothership Strategies Employee Review

1.0
Jun 29, 2020
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Mothership has a lot of generous benefits like Student Loan repayment, full commuter benefits, etc. It is also a good place to cut your teeth in the digital field. However, after you learn what you need to it is best to move onto another firm where you'll be appreciated.

Cons

Mothership is a good place to learn about Digital Campaigning but has a very toxic culture. Everyone is managed by a "Content Specialist" and a traditional Manager. Some Content Specialists will bully and belittle you if you do not hit their "standards". The only catch is their standards are so subjective that they will contradict other Content Specialists and sometimes themselves. There have been times, I was told specifically to do something by one CS only to be criticized for doing it by the next. Since the turnover rate is so high, an employee will have about 2-3 Content Specialists in a year. Therefore, by the time someone adjusts and understands their Content Specialist's expectations, they must start adjusting to someone else's. Some of my Content Specialists were good and supportive, but most were incredibly stressful to work under. It was very exhausting and disheartening to constantly try to adapt to a VERY subjective idea of what is good while constantly being disparaged. Not all managers were bad, but from my perspective, most managers were fresh out of college and had extraordinarily little formal training to help them grow into their roles. It seemed like a lot of managers struggled themselves to figure out how to lead, which created bad team morale. I had over 3 managers during my time and only 1 had sufficient leadership skills to guide a team. Also, it seems Managers are pressured from above to constantly raise more and more money and in turn put all that pressure on the people underneath them. We were pushed to produce more and raise more without any regard for our health and wellbeing. There were times I left the office at 8 PM or 9 PM during non-election seasons because I was pushed to produce so much without any support or sympathy from my supervisors. This "work a mule, kill a mule" mentality took a toll on the mental and physical health of my teammates and me. Whenever anyone on my team would object to their workload, we were told we're not managing our time well -- although we would rarely take time off for lunch and were essentially glued to our seats from 9 AM to whenever we left. I also felt like the overall culture of the company sought to divide and conquer the employees so people could not get together and talk about how bad things are. I've been on teams where people did not physically talk to each other -- even if you were sitting next to them. If you had a question, you were expected to instant message them. I also had a manager who played games with us to try to make us turn on each other. Unfortunately, we initially fell for it until we started getting together after work, and noticed our manager individually told us things about each other to upset us. Additionally, if someone is not on your team in the company, you will have very little interaction with them. When I left, there were some people who had been there for a couple of months whose names I did not even know. When I first started at Mothership, I tried to talk and reach out to people and would get the cold shoulder. At first, I thought these individual people were just rude, but after working at Mothership, I understood that they were just falling in line with the company's culture. People at Mothership will say that those who move on just didn't have the skill/talent to cut it at the company. This is the company line to justify its high turnover rate and miserable staff. I've seen a lot of talented people move on to other firms and produce strong results. I honestly don't think Mothership cares about their employees and see people as expendable. Overall, I am grateful for the skills I gained while working for Mothership, but I'm glad I moved on. I was always stressed and sick. I constantly felt like I had to defend myself from my supervisors who were trying to railroad me. In the end, it felt like their generous benefits were not worth the mental torment I had to endure daily.

Explore other reviews about Mothership Strategies

5.0
May 2, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great work from home stipend. The company uses MacBooks, which is great.

Cons

Low pay. Fellows don't receive benefits.

5.0
Mar 27, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

- Excellent Benefits (Affordable Health Insurance, HSA Contributions, Dental, Student Loan Reimbursement, Monthly Wellness Reimbursement, Cell Phone Reimbursement, Monthly Snacks, etc.) - Extremely Generous PTO and Sick Day Policies - Collaborative and Welcoming Team Environment - Regular Feedback and Raise Opportunities (Bi-Annual) - Flexible Remote Work - Great Opportunity to Dive Headfirst into the World of Digital Political Fundraising With Little to No Experience

Cons

- Nature of Politics Can Mean Unpredictable Hours (Weekends, Nights, etc.) - Opportunities For Growth Can Be Competitive

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