Culture has drastically and negatively changed since new CEO joined - Customer Success Cobalt Employee Review

1.0
7 Jan 2023
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Remote first, startup environment where you can learn new skills and make a real impact.

Cons

- New CEO since Jacob left is neither customer or employee focused. - Autonomy is diminishing by the day - the CSO now has to approve every single discount we try to provide to a customer. Sending a very clear message that we (managers and directors included)are not trusted to make any decision on our own. - Sensitive matters are handled extremely poorly, for example, we have been told for months and months that we were in no danger of layoffs. Immediately after we return from the holidays the CEO writes us a Slack message on a Friday saying that we are facing lay offs and that individuals will be invited to meetings NEXT week if we are being laid off. Followed with a short sentiment stating that they will do this in a compassionate and sensitive way. How is that possible when a Slack message before a weekend is how you began this extremely stressful process for your employees that have been rolling with disappointment after let down after somber monologue you've given us. It's incredibly insulting. **Please be very aware that the Diversity and Inclusion that Cobalt used to pride itself on has now gone out the window. I endure micro aggressions on a daily basis and hiring diverse employees is no longer a focus in any capacity.

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Cobalt Response
3y
Your feedback is important and I want you to know that I and the management team take your comments seriously and with an open mind. We continue to strive to be customer centric and respect both customers and employees. The layoffs have, understandably, been very hard for the team. It was a decision that we did not make lightly, and I understand that this has been very difficult. During the All Hands where we addressed Cobalters’ questions about the future and layoffs, I had said that we didn’t have plans for layoffs - this at the time reflected our plans and thinking. I was also asked to ‘guarantee’ that there would be no layoffs for the next year - to which I responded that I could not provide that assurance as it would have been very negligent on my part to do so. No one knows the future. As market conditions continued to deteriorate, we had to confront the reality that Cobalt is not immune to current market conditions, and take some hard decisions for the long-term health of the company. We strive to be as transparent as possible, but unfortunately, this industry often moves fast, and so we also need to adapt quickly. Change is hard. Cobalt is a growth stage company, and so the last 18 months have been a period of high transformation, starting with my own appointment as CEO. In my conversations with Jacob Hansen at that time, we discussed the future of Cobalt and the changes that needed to be made. We both knew it would not be easy and we knew the focus and priorities needed to evolve. I want you to know that the decisions I make as a CEO, and that we make as a management team, are with Cobalt’s best interests in mind. Diversity and inclusion continues to be an important priority for us. We want everyone to feel welcome and be comfortable to express their full selves at work. I’m very concerned to read your comments and urge you to discuss with the People team or directly with me. I also encourage you and all current employees to continue sharing your feedback via our anonymous feedback surveys and/or internal AMAs.

Explore other reviews about Cobalt

5.0
3 Dec 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Brilliant team and culture - greatest asset at Cobalt is the people Strong, visionary leadership Stability with smart investments in hiring and infrastructure for proactive scaling

Cons

Increased pace and change comes with some intensity but teams work hard to support each other in reaching our exciting goals

2.0
21 May 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Remote work, work/life balance good

Cons

Leadership has no clue what they’re doing.

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