The workload was extreme - Sound Designer Inkitt Employee Review

1.0
20 May 2023
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

I had the possibility of working remotely. My work colleagues were nice.

Cons

A workload difficult to assume for 8 hours. I needed 11/12 even on weekends. The job as a designer consisted of making 3 episodes of a book a day. My average was to do 1 episode in 8 hours. The salary was quite poor. Little more than the minimum wage in Germany. I had to put my own equipment, computers, etc. Buy my own sound libraries etc. One day a week it was mandatory to go to the office. That day you had to participate in several useless meetings which delayed your work a lot. The normal working hours of those who worked in the office were from 10 to 10. It was common for my superior to write to me on weekends and waiting for a response. Abusive working conditions. I think this is the company where I have felt the most exploited in my whole life. They take advantage of the fact that professions such as writer and sound designer are in very little demand.

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Inkitt Response
3y
​​Thank you for sharing your comments. It is sad to hear that you did not enjoy your time at Inkitt. As stated in past responses, like most startups, it's true that working at Inkitt isn't a 9 to 5 job. Having said that, there for sure has never been any expectation to work on weekends, and therefore this statement is very surprising to read. However we recognize that startup working culture isn't for everyone, and we have therefore begun to be much more purposeful during the recruiting process, to make sure anybody we make an offer to is familiar with the differences of working at A) an early stage startup in hyper-growth vs. B) a slow growing startup vs. C) a large mature company with slow stable growth . We are building an industry transforming company from scratch, and we therefore aim to attract team members who are drawn by the prospect of being a part of this journey, and who are hungry to be the ones responsible for building it. We totally appreciate that the level of commitment this requires is not for everybody. You mention that you had to come to the office one day per week. This might be true, and we have even changed the company office policy further, whereby we now come to the office three days a week. This is in part a response to what many employees were requesting (e.g. more in-person interactions, more fluid communications, more opportunities for cross-team collaborative work, etc). We again recognize that not everybody prefers in-office work, and we therefore also communicate this very openly and clearly during the recruiting process, so that we attract those employees who prefer having more in-person interactions. Once more, thank you for taking time to share your feedback with us, and for giving us the opportunity to clarify parts of our way-of-working at Inkitt.

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5.0
31 May 2026
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CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

- Being able to lead projects independently from A to Z and be trusted for it - Engaging daily with a creative and passionate team - Being part of exciting new projects in a fast-paced, fast-evolving industry - Steep learning curve, you'll be pushed out of your comfort zone and grow fast

Cons

Inkitt is a fast-paced start-up with no set playbook. People who love structure and need to be managed and told what to do may find it challenging.

5.0
26 May 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Inkitt is one of the few places that actually sits between tech and media in a way that works. A manuscript comes in, real reader behavior tells you whether the story has legs, and the team turns that signal into a career for the author. I think about reader retention and narrative pacing in the same conversation now, which I didn't before.

Cons

The flip side is that the playbook doesn't fully exist yet. Some weeks you're inventing the process while running it. Energizing if you like ambiguity, exhausting if you don't. Worth being honest with yourself about which camp you're in before signing on.

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