Cro Metrics Reviews

CEO & leadership culture The CEO does not ask thoughtful questions, does not say "I don't know," and does not genuinely engage with input that challenges his existing view — feedback is solicited performatively and discarded When faced with a perspective he doesn't want to hear, the response is to run an AI query until something validates his original position, then present that as resolution He is more influenced by AI outputs and online thought leaders than by the experienced practitioners he employs Experience and expertise carry no weight — the only perspective that consistently matters is his own Executive communication is dismissive and unprofessional, regardless of an employee's seniority, performance, or contribution You can be a high performer, back to back in meetings all day, delivering exceptional work — and still be met with coldness, impatience, and a complete absence of empathy from the top The co-CEO role is organizational theater — it exists to soften perception, not share actual leadership responsibility Culture & expectations There is an always-on expectation that is never stated explicitly but enforced culturally — the work is positioned as the single most important thing, at all times. Presenteeism is the norm; availability is treated as a proxy for value in a way that will steadily erode your ability to function as a whole person There is no empathy in how people are managed — not when workloads are unreasonable, not when concerns are raised, not when someone is clearly burning out Management structure There is no real middle management — team leaders have no more authority or answers than the people they manage, and escalating to the CEO is understood internally to be pointless Real problems have no path to resolution; they circulate until everyone is too exhausted to keep raising them Senior strategists carry the full weight of client relationships with no organizational backing and no one empowered to actually intervene Client impact & sales Work is sold without honest assessment of whether the org can deliver it — execution is figured out after the contract is signed, if at all Leadership shows little genuine interest in clients' core business challenges; the work trends toward what's interesting to build, not what solves the actual problem Clients are sold capabilities that don't exist, delivered against timelines that were never realistic — and the strategists closest to those relationships are left to absorb the fallout alone The distance between what is promised and what is delivered is not a growing pain. It is the business model. Capability & resourcing Critical gaps in analytics and deep subject matter expertise are treated as permanent fixtures rather than urgent problems Offshore consultants substitute for internal capability rather than complementing it; AI is positioned as the reason not to invest in experienced people at all

The best people here have already left. That tells you everything. The new co-CEO lacks experience managing remotely or in leading at a company this size — what should be clear direction turns into a cycle of redundant meetings and organizational confusion. The strong leadership team that once gave this place credibility has largely walked out the door, and what's been left behind is window dressing. The real power sits with the the founder, who operates behind the scenes with little empathy or regard for the people doing the actual work. Not to mention his lack of relevant expertise — his background is in product, not client services, and even his product instincts tend toward solutions that don't match what delivery teams actually need. Client work reflects this. Despite repeated claims about leveling up with AI and modernizing the approach, the playbook hasn't meaningfully changed in years. The results are mediocre, churn is high, and clients feel it. So do employees. Surveys are sent out to solicit feedback internally but are entirely disregarded. The whole experience is performative and wastes time, distracting from what could otherwise be meaningful work. Headcount is managed through frequent, poorly communicated layoffs. The same bad communication runs on a loop. Meanwhile, the talent pipeline is being gutted — work is increasingly offshored to contractors paid a fraction of market rate and the experience gap shows up directly in output quality. High quality employees are seen as too expensive and needing to justify their existence through tracking minimum average of 45+ billable hours per week in Harvest (including PTO). If you're a job seeker: your growth here will stall and you should keep your resume updated. If you're a prospective client: you'll pay for a team you're not getting.