Pros
- Loom is a disrupter in workplace communication. The opportunities are exciting and Loom has incredible potential as a company. There are many competitors for a product like this, but no others are as well designed and executed, or as versatile as Loom. There is some tech debt that needs to be addressed on the back-end to make sure that we continue to be the best in class, but Loom strives to offer the highest quality experience and features. - Because this is an employee market right now, you have great negotiating power for both level and compensation. Equity benefits are generous and since it’s an early stage start-up, this could be the only hope us millennials have for retirement. The pay is very competitive within the tech industry and pay is not determined based on where you live. Which is great if you live in the midwest, but not as lucrative if you live in major and very expensive cities. - The founders are first-time founders and they have a huge learning curve, but I believe they are genuinely doing their best, and have honorable intentions. Leadership teams are never perfect, and there are some areas with significant room for improvement, but I believe Joe and Vinay will get there eventually. Especially if they continue to be open to employee feedback. - The company continues to prioritize education, and offers free accounts to students and teachers. - Every team is different, but overall there is a lot of room for ownership and autonomy. If you want to take on a challenge, managers will usually empower and support you along the way. Though if you tend to have poor boundaries around work/life balance, it’s easy to start taking on and doing more than you should at your level, and it’s a gamble on if you’ll be recognized and compensated for it. - Culture-wise, the company is remote-first, even before the pandemic, and there is a solid effort to support employees who want to work from an office, travel to see other teammates, and get together at team and company off-site events. - PTO is encouraged, but often when you come back from it there is a huge backlog to catch up on. The company is trying to increase R&R by implementing one Friday off per month, but it comes in last minute and isn’t accounted for in planning and so you’ll need to accomplish 5 days of work in 4, because the deadline expectations remain the same. - The people you work with, Loommates, are incredible! They really are the best at what they do, and there is a lot of trust in everyone’s expertise. Though if you aren’t performing up to standard, there isn’t a lot of effort to get you back to standards, and most fall behind and are eventually let go.
Cons
- If you’re looking to climb the ladder quickly, or god forbid you were misleveled when you came in, you will probably always be playing catch-up. The most recent calibration round has left a lot of employees far behind in title and level (which impacts your pay and equity) that those employees are performing at. There are many flight-risks as a result and anticipate a lot of churn on several teams, which has already begun. - The leadership team loves the idea of people over product, but in practice they do not prioritize career growth or recognizing an individual contributor’s performance or value. The main way for a company to show appreciation to their employees is time and money. With efforts around no-meeting Fridays, company-wide closures during the year, and unlimited PTO, they are definitely trying with time. But unfortunately once you’re hired, there isn’t much opportunities for increase in salary, even with promotions. - As is often the case, you can make a lot more being a contractor, so several contractors are choosing to stay on a contract basis, and at least one person has made the jump from full-time back to contracting, so if company equity isn’t a big deal to you, staying a contractor may be in your best interest. - The company is growing fast and there are some major growing pains. Processes and teams need to scale effectively and quickly. Headcount planning is incredibly important and some teams aren’t getting the headcount they need and have to rely on contractors. - The product strategy currently seems to be throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks, but they don’t invest in what sticks. There are a lot of ideas for features, but none of them are best in class. For example, there is so much room for improvement when it comes to speed, transcription, video and sound quality, accessibility, and closed captions. - While the company is remote-first, hiring is prioritized in the US and Canada, and traveling abroad for any extended period of time is not encouraged. It’s possible, if you are willing to work with insane time differences, but you would be met with a lot of pushback if you planned to do this. A few team members with family in India have done this, but few of them recommend it. Depending on how long you stay in other countries, or if you maintain a US address, your pay may be affected to account for that country’s tax laws and local salary standards.