The positive reviews are planted. This is not a place you want to work. - Anonymous employee Brickfish Employee Review

1.0
19 May 2015
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

You can get to a Starbucks without leaving the building

Cons

Compensation: Pathways to growth and raises are completely unclear and the way they are ultimately managed is hugely unprofessional and sporadic. They start you off very low - somewhere in the 20k range - and gradually move you up by 2k here or 3k there whenever they feel like it. There is no formal application or internal review process for growth and 90% of the time it just boils down to the mood the boss is in. At Christmas is was decided (and widely publicized) that only employees who had been working there for over a year (a very small % of the employees, mind you, the turnover rate is very high) would get a holiday bonus. However, there was a bit of mystery money leftover and the CEO decided to let our co-workers decide who was "worthy" of also getting part of the bonus. Bonuses, growth, and raises should not be reduced to a popularity contest. It devalues the employees and discounts any hard work they may be doing. Playing favorites is not a way to run a company. Value of Employees: Management does not value his employees. I can remember at least two instances when an employee was told "if you don't want to do this then I can find someone who will." Ultimatums are made frequently and it is not uncommon for a person's job security to be threatened publicly. Hugely unprofessional. It does not instill confidence in the employee or the work they're doing. This definitely contributed to the high turnover rate. The company could actually produce some high quality work if they didn't make it abundantly clear that they kept employees because they suck up and not because they're talented and have useful skills. Saw some very skillful people come and go. Work Load: When trying to lock down clients we were encouraged to say yes to everything and figure out how to execute later. The company's capabilities were frequently overstated. When it came time to actually provide the work that was promised it led to panic, stress, and a whole lot of blame. And of course more "if you dont want to do it then I'll find someone who will." This led to a consistently unreasonably high amount of work in a small time frame without the proper tools. I guess this is also an example of how management doesn't value their employees, because if they did they would be creating a work environment that was more reasonable. Expertise: The staff is very young and nobody has really mastered what they're doing. There are probably 2 employees who are over 5 years out of college. This is due in part to the high turnover rate. Nobody really sticks around long enough to become fully competent at their position. Additionally, since people are always leaving roles are being switched - forcing people to do jobs they didn't interview for or may not have the skill set for. Example: one of these shifts involved the office assistant becoming the manager of social media. I guess thats another example of how growth is unclear... people dont really advance they're just shuffled around. Professionalism: There are a lot of young employees in the office, and often times the social aspect of the office would leak into the "professional" aspect of the office. People hooked up (not at work, of course) and it would spread around like wildfire. It seemed that management got a kick out of it and really enjoyed participating in the gossip. HR does not exist. Inappropriate jokes are made all the time. It's very clicky and people kind of play favorites. Potential clients are more likely to be given to one of the favorites.

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Brickfish Response
10y
Good Luck in your new job

Explore other reviews about Brickfish

5.0
14 Mar 2017
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Everybody in the office plays their part, but the kindness and energy of the coworkers makes it a fun place to work. Through my experience as a web designer, it was not mostly a heads down job. People took time to talk to each other, help each other and not put blame on others for missed deadlines (if any) The people there work very hard and are rewarded upon completion of deadlines and projects. All of the employees connect in the office and outside of the office sometimes for events that the owner generously throws dinner outings for employees (with birthdays and such) Overall, very happy experience working, not too many complaints.

Cons

Everybody plays their part and everybody has their part. Not much room for moving around or up in a position. When it came down to coding front end, the heavy backend developers were focused on heavy back end so not much help for leaning on others for front end development help (teach yourself when you have the time)

1
1.0
3 Mar 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

1. Located in downtown, public transport is walkable 2. No after-hours work/ call.

Cons

1. Very low salary 2. Micromanagement, senior people will keep an eye on you. You can't talk to colleagues or take bathroom breaks. 3. Frequent hiring and firing.

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