Verified SV Rocketship Jump Started My Career
Pros
There's a lot to unpack here! I joined Verkada in the Spring of 2020 as an SDR and was put through an intensive 2 quarter training program that resulted in a promotion to Account Executive. This experience proved to be the catalyst for the rest of my sales career. - My manager on the West Coast SLED team (Ali) was a tried and true mentor and friend from the beginning of my SDR tenure up until my last day as an AE. I can't express how much of an impact she had on me in such a positive way. - Product/Market fit is incredible. The product is leaps and bounds more powerful than anything else on the market and customers LOVE it. - Leadership with decades of experience building companies like this. It shows. - Surrounded by extreme sales talent on the floor. You learn fast and by osmosis. - Real opportunity to make a lot of money. - Liquidity event (IPO) almost a guarantee with current trajectory. - Sales Managers are professional and consultative while still affording their reps the autonomy to succeed in their own way. My fiance and I are moving down to Southern California and unfortunately Verkada does not support remote work. It was really tough having to say goodbye, but I'm eternally grateful to have had the opportunity to work here.
Cons
Lots of bad press surrounding a few cultural/diversity issues in t Verkada's early days. These have been largely overcome and addressed by leadership and the addition of a new veteran HR team (I'm looking at you Dervilla + Maryanne). They've taken on the challenge and have made an incredible impact in a short amount of time. At the time of writing this I can confidently say that inclusivity and diversity have increased tenfold under their watch. Recent breach was tough to overcome, but the company's proactive response to, and effort to overcome this incident was largely well received. Hacks are an unfortunate inevitability of any IOT company. Hard work? Not sure if this is a "Con" but definitely wouldn't recommend to anyone who lacks a strong work ethic.
