Pros
The pleasant developers working in the trenches. Thank you for making this company bearable.
Cons
Lies and Half Truths - Everything about the past, present and future of the company is kept under lock and key and only lies and half truths are exposed. A blatant contradiction to the Open Door Policy promised. Micromanagement at it's Worst - The owner must contribute to everything and anything or else it's not approved, even if he has very little experience in the matter, causing a huge frustrating bottleneck. A plethora of ideas and concepts will be provided, the whole team will approve of it and developed to completion and suddenly the owner will no longer approve of it. Not mine? Not fine. No Career Advancement - Internships will last over a year and Full Time offers will see minute differences in salary. There is little advancement from within and insufficient feedback and salary increases are very rare. There's a reason the churn rate for the staff is high. It's better to fly with the eagles than be preyed upon. Too Veteran - Having experienced guidance can be optimal, but in this case, too ancient for this rapidly evolving industry. They are afraid of change and refuses to adapt to methods proven effective. No Schedule - This company maybe a start up, but even amateurs know that deadlines and schedules go hand in hand. Developers will spend months without direction and often making up their own tasks to ward off boredom and look busy. Then there will suddenly be a deadline in two weeks and "extra effort" will be "asked" to finish something management knew about months ago. This needlessly bumpy road will cycle over and over, demo after demo. No Compensation for Extra Effort - At the start, passionate employees will stay late and even work over night to make these crazy deadlines. There will be no offer to leave early and rest for that overnight war you just fought. In the end, passion becomes indifference.