Pros
- Very young but extremely smart team - Extreme autonomy, probably unlike any other job aside from being a founder (could be a pro or a con depending on the person) - Great culture among SPLs, people genuinely try to support each other when someone is underwater, even if they’re underwater themselves (literally everyone is usually underwater) - Merit based culture, you can progress quickly if you can survive and still do well in extremely dire conditions
Cons
- Not exaggerating when I say you should expect to not really have hobbies, exercise consistently or have dedicated time with your family unless you’re taking PTO - Toxic culture where long work hours are glorified (and I mean beyond 9-9-6). Totally understand the need to hustle in this market, but even people coming from PE/IB/consulting/VC, industries that already have brutal hours, join as SPLs and start second guessing their decision to join - Comp is okay if you’re straight out of college, but overall it’s undermarket compared to competitors, especially the benefits and bonuses. Relative to how much you work it's not worth it - Burn and churn feels like part of the operating model - every few days someone is on the verge of quitting. No one is really speaking up in a meaningful way, Lots of bandages being passed around to duct the team together. Nothing is being done to address a structural issue with how leadership views SPLs as a disposable resource, and don't know how to manage clients, staff projects, and scale teams - Retention seems like its irrelevant, aside from a few select managers/HR team members doing what little they can