Raptive Reviews

Raptive is a trend-following company at best. They don’t innovate — the latest AI initiative (after multiple layoffs) is just a way for them to appear relevant. The head of technology is an untrustworthy, apathetic, and crass person who only cares to see numbers on a dashboard go up when it comes to productivity and work. There is no room for growth. It took an inordinate amount of time to figure out a leveling system, but it’s only there for show. The only way to move up is to leave and come back, because tech management would rather hire than promote internally. Unlimited PTO isn’t actually unlimited, in fact, it’s a “take only when truly needed” policy. You would be reprimanded for taking any vacation that was “seen as superfluous”. Product is absolutely terrible. They don’t know what a web application is, let alone how to make it better. They don’t communicate well, set unrealistic deadlines, and are bad at what they do on top of that.

Where to begin. First of all, if you find yourself working there right after the holidays, prepare yourself for a bloodbath. They've gotten into the habit of letting go a massive number of people in early January, then immediately listing those positions for rehire. Probably a way to drive down salaries. It's brutal. People crying in the halls, people getting let go in groups instead of privately. It's about as bad as you can imagine. The work load is ridiculous. When people leave or are let go, the rest of their team is expected to absorb their work. This happens often, as turnover is insanely high. The company is on a long, slow decline. They keep selling these "smoke and mirrors" programs to big advertisers based on traffic they buy, not generate, with a membership base that is all but non-existent ever since Facebook came along and seriously kicked their butts on how to foster community. No one joins their groups (because everyone who wants to "hang out" online just joins a Facebook group). So they pay "mods" to make it look like the group has organic activity. It's a house of cards. Intelligent, outspoken women are forced out. Upper management is exclusively male and not friendly to new ideas, specially not from women. It's silly to imagine that a company aimed at female consumers is so male-dominated, but it's about the worst I've seen in the industry. They keep hiring young, inexperienced women they can underpay, and then force the more experienced women out. Few females ever make it into upper management and when they do, they don't last long. Very political "boys' club." The decision-making process is very insular and open to the same group with the same stale ideas. Zero concern for employee well-being. Terrible, ineffectual HR. No training of managers whatsoever. If you're lucky and happen to get an empathetic one, it's because they were trained elsewhere or happen to have innate skill. The company thinks nothing of promoting people with zero people skills. Saw at least one employee get laid off during maternity leave (how she didn't sue them, I will never understand). No job security whatsoever.