No Money, No Vision, No One Left - Anonymous employee Whisper Employee Review

1.0
Jan 12, 2018
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

It started off as an authentic platform for users to build community, but that is a concept or a hobby not a business when you can't find a way to monetize or build revenue

Cons

NO MONEY: Their operating expenses are too high and revenue numbers are down. Finance constantly tells employees to go find a new job because they won't make payroll and services are literally being shut off because bills aren't being paid. The landlord even came into the building shouting at the CEO in front of all the engineers saying "you haven't paid rent in months!" NO VISION: There is no vision or leadership. Michael Heyward, the CEO has never had a job or went to college. He started this "company" or rather hobby when he was 23 with zero experience. He doesn't know how to set goals, forecast, manage investors or develop a product roadmap. There is no structure. No one knows what they are working on and the plan pivots several times a week merely because he feels like it with no rhyme or reason. The only other member of the "executive team" is Eric Yellin , CMO who comes in at 12p and leaves at 3p every day if he is in the office at all. No one knows quite what he does as he tends to just take walking meetings with people and tell them how incompetent Michael, the CEO is and that the company is going bankrupt but that he can afford to stick around since his wife is independently wealthy. It is an obscure & toxic environment these two have developed with no experience or leadership skills. NO ONE LEFT: They laid off 25 people in July 2017 but that was just the beginning, everyone has resigned. The COO and 14 others resigned the week after the lay-offs then a few months later the CTO, Director of Product, Director of HR, Director of Sales and Director of Editorial all left as well. There are maybe 18 people left working at this company and they are all spending their days looking for jobs or interviewing, myself included. I'm simply writing this review as a warning because somehow people are still applying to work for this place.

Explore other reviews about Whisper

5.0
Feb 22, 2023
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Very happy with my experinece with it all

Cons

Nothing to add here at all

5.0
Mar 7, 2018
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

- Amazing coworkers (I feel like I will be friends with these people for the rest of my life) - free lunch & dinner - no vacation policy (just let them know 2 weeks in advance) - product is actually making people's lives better (depression, anxiety, love life etc etc - ceo is hardest working person in the company and a really compassionate guy -lots of opportunities to grow if you put in the time I've worked at some pretty big name companies and startups, and I've never enjoyed doing my work as much as I did here at Whisper. The people and energy here are both positive and upbeat. I really liked working for my manager, which we all know is super important. Also, we were working towards big goals, so things always change, which is both invigorating and exciting. I like being able to make a difference with what I do. Startups are not for everyone-- there is a lot of ambiguity and changes in direction. Some people thrive in that environment while others can't handle it. If a challenging, dynamic environment sounds interesting, there is no smarter or more driven team than at Whisper.

Cons

Startups are not for people who cannot handle stress or ambiguity. Some people are just better off at big tech companies where they can work 9-5 and checkout when they walk out of the office.

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