The megalomaniac of a CTO, and the ineffective CEO are reasons to avoid - Director of Engineering Aparavi Employee Review

Good office with nice vibes

Need some more space for pool

I enjoyed most everyone that I interacted with and worked with, especially on a day-to-day basis. My experience as an IC was that my colleagues were kind, thoughtful, and generally willing to lend a hand. The product is interesting from a business perspective, and challenging technically. The cash compensation was adequate, maybe trending towards the lower end for the geographic area. The benefits were reasonable too.

At the highest level of management I saw a well defined and aspirational vision of the product and the company. Just below that rung, however, I witnessed a layer of management that seemed perpetually in disarray. In my brief tenure, I was present for at least two company-wide reorganizations. Communication was clearly sparse between certain key figures, and this lead to conflicting messaging and instruction. I was regularly expected to take ownership of feature delivery, testing, and deployment - but was never actually afforded any authority or autonomy to drive anything beyond development. For this reason, it often felt like I was intentionally being set up for failure by junior PM’s. At one time, I was extended the opportunity to participate in a “performance incentive plan” wherein I would be eligible to receive quarterly allotments that would add up to a $5,000 bonus over the course of a year. However, it was stipulated that I would immediately take a $2,500 reduction in my overall salary to participate in this plan. Moreover, a notable portion of the bonuses would be tied to company performance. When I inquired how this performance would be measured (it’s worth noting that that the company wasn’t generating revenue), I was not given a solid answer. Towards the end of my tenure I did not reasonably believe there would be any meaningful advancements I could make in my role.