Pros
High energy people, pretty positive atmosphere for the most part. If you work hard and keep your head down you can do very well.
Cons
The pros can be part of the problem sometimes. Culture is a big thing but the culture is ill-defined and comes at the stake of hurting processes. It can’t always be about just working hard and making sure you get to know everybody. Companies can’t just grow off of good feelings alone. There need to be procedures in place to facilitate growth and the incentives for hitting those marks need to be more pronounced. The problem is that those employees who actually do financial good for the company aren’t recognized or rewarded but the people who fit the company’s personality clique often get the bulk of the recognition. Becoming a successful company shouldn’t be based on popularity contests alone. People are working themselves down to the bone and don’t get recognized for that because they aren’t as outgoing as someone doing half the work and getting all the praise. Conversations always grind to a halt around the same set of people no matter the room in the building. There is too much focus on making the 1% satisfied and the suggestions from the remaining 99% go unheard. That might work in the short term but there is high turnover because those people can’t even get a foot in the door, no matter how open that open door policy is.