Pros
You will find passionate colleagues and gain decent work experience (refer to point #5 in the cons list for the downsides). Upper Management is relatively accessible and not hidden away in some office on the 33rd floor in another continent. They provided snacks.
Cons
(1) They keep having layoffs and indirect layoffs via "unpaid forced sabbaticals" which is a nice way to say hey you're fired, but 3-6 months later. // (2) There is a huge lack of transparency and communication in the workings of the company - things that could be handled with compassion and dignity are handled clumsily (refer to point 1 and 3) // (3) Appraisal talks/meetings are merely a formality and do not guarantee a raise, or even a job for that matter (refer to point 1). You could have a productive discussion/debate about your well-deserved appraisal + have all your work heavily scrutinized to see how much $ you're worth...and still be in line for a layoff next week. // (4) I've seen lots of employees feel immense guilt about taking leaves, or have no concept of taking leaves despite being burnt out or sick. This is not the individual's fault - it comes from being so pressured with deadlines or workload that the person simply cannot take time off to recuperate. Or teams are so short-staffed that literally nobody else can take on the work for that day. // (5) Lots of time is spent on products or ideas that never see the light of day. This can be frustrating when it happens multiple times - you've worked hard and made something you're proud of, but there is nothing concrete to show for it down the line. // (6) Team leads can get away with questionable and unprofessional behavior if they are profitable for the company. They will likely not even get a reprimand, which puts the people working under them at risk.