Disingenuous CEO, terrible work culture, terrible direction (Now Audiobyte) - Anonymous employee Songclip Employee Review

2.0
9 Mar 2019
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

- decent pay - CEO pretends to have your back - good coworkers

Cons

CEO (Andrew Blacker) is one of those guys that all startup employees would warn you about. He blows smoke where it’s needed & pretends his employees are a priority, but consistently passes over original employees for advancement & makes rash decisions based on whim. Hours were decent, but consistently had to work outside of work hours to meet their crazy demands. There is a reason none (but one) of the original team are there. And the direction they are taking the product now is nothing short of idiotic. Most of the team has been disbanded and a new team hired in the Bay Area.

Explore other reviews about Songclip

5.0
18 Jun 2021
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

-Building a new tech for music and apps -Small smart team -Everyone works well together -Leadership cares about the team

Cons

-Music is hard, always changing re: what is allowed -Growth can change companies--so far, so good -Very complex ideas and work--you need to be passionate

1.0
29 Jan 2020
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

- Intriguing industry to learn about and get a foot through the door with music. - Hires anyone! without relevant start-up experiences or professional working background

Cons

- Toxic culture and environment that's focused on metrics under the guise of optimization and over communication. You're only held accountable to them when it doesn't meet the execs' narrative. The company has never promoted any real outings/fun compared to other similar stage companies that actually reward employees. - Employee retention is pathetic across engineering, product, design (the backbone of any start up). Execs will hire anyone who talks a good game and then fire them when they realize it was never a good fit to begin with. This stems from the lack of transparency, secret agendas, and nepotism. - The team is spread across 3 different timezones so it's a constant struggle to get things done and coordinated. - Pay is be below market because "we're a start-up", but the equity you're give is a joke when you calculate it. - The "start-up" environment that they're attempting to create is a complete illusion. If you do your research, you'll see that this company has gone through multiple name changes, including a change in CEO, and other various executive title changes from other senior managers and execs. - Google/search for Glassdoor's article on "6 Types of CEOs You Should Never Work For" and the CEO Andy Black checks off 5/6 types with the exception of #2, while the other senior managers fall into the other various types so be careful about what they say. - Personal career growth does not actually exist unless all you care is a fancy title in a forever churning small team.

5
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