Pros
The dress code is fantastic, jeans everyday if you’d like. The pay and benefits are great. The work is interesting even if you don’t agree with it or the methods used to accomplish it. There are many smart hard working people who work here simply because of what’s possible. If you are looking for a challenging place to build your professional chops, you will be hazed into levels of growth you could only imagine. However you will sell your soul for it.
Cons
I met someone recently who applied for a job at XPRIZE. She opted for another job. Her friends advised that she dodged a bullet. This is a sentiment shared privately all the time by staff. It’s a great place because it sounds good. But don’t do it without a selfish purpose, just like everyone else. Underneath the surface of the well intended purposes is a stench of ugliness, disregard, and disrespect for people. This is a place that consistently shows it does not genuinely care about people but masks itself in work to ‘benefit mankind’ so that they can fool themselves into thinking they’re different. In fairness, XPRIZE is no different than any other profit induced company. Except it is a nonprofit and it attracts people who want to do something to make the world better. It manages to sprinkle enough good feelings to keep the staff working and the executives paid very well. The salaries of the CEO and Chief Strategy Officer alone should give anyone pause.
