Great co-workers, poor company - Anonymous employee XY Labs Employee Review

2.0
1 June 2019
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Work environment was relatively relaxed. I found my work to be enjoyable. Pay was OK. Co-workers were fun to be around. Diverse staff.

Cons

Company expects the highest levels of loyalty and devotion, yet turns around and lays off over half their employees a week after they're rallying them about how bright the future is and how focused the company is now. (They said we could stick around for free beers afterwards, though. Thanks!) Cringe-worthy cult of personality around one of the founders. Crude, misogynistic and borderline racist comments in meetings was routine. Surprising given how diverse, in race, gender and age, the company is. Questionable business expertise, considering there seemed to be no foresight into how much budget was available or runway was left at the current burn rate. Rash decisions were common and left you wondering why they hadn't been aware of the problems before. For example, they'd go on a hiring spree, brag about how fast the company was growing, then have layoffs a few weeks later. Some of those who were recently hired were laid off. No clear direction on what the product(s) are. Vision would change every week, it seemed.

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XY Labs Response
7y
Thank you for contributing feedback. It's fantastic to hear that you found our work environment to be "relatively relaxed." Although, I'd say you were probably an exception! XY/XYO is typically described as very fast-moving! It's also excellent to hear that you found your work to be enjoyable! I'll be sure to log your comment on paying being OK. And, of course, we love how Diverse our Staff is. Regarding your Cons, thank you so much for providing your honest feedback. I understand how devastating and hard our recent downsizing was, and believe me, our entire team, including our Co-founders, are hurting emotionally just as much as anyone. Regarding the "cringe-worthy cult of a personality around one of the founders", I can only infer you're relating to the show he does for our community and followers. I personally took your concern to him and he takes your comment very seriously. We can only say that he is very excited and energetic about what he does. He believes in the vision of our company and what we're building and if it comes across as "cultish", then he intends to address this. Thank you for commenting on how diverse in race, gender and age our company is! We believe this is one of the reasons XYO is so great, and we intend to keep it this way! The best teams are the ones that are comprised of different backgrounds and provide different perspectives. Regarding comments of crude, misogynistic and borderline racist comments, I assure you this does not reflect our culture and values and we will make a point to ensure this does not continue forward in any way. Regarding your feedback on our leadership having "Questionable business expertise", we believe that the previous structure and strategy reflected this, which is why we needed to make such a drastic change to our operations, focus and re-align with our vision. While it's only been a week since undertaking our new vision, we have made strides on the items you present as Cons with our previous business strategy, and we are extremely excited about the future. Thank you so much for your feedback and we hope to one day make you proud for being a part of what we're building.

Explore other reviews about XY Labs

5.0
27 Mar 2025
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CEO approval
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Pros

They keep putting up with me, who am I to complain? Work from home for everyone eligible, which includes almost all employees and contractors. And unlimited, performance-based PTO. This is a great place to work if you're creative, self-motivated, a problem-solver, and can work under flexible conditions.

Cons

They're going to work you. You're going to WORK for this company. There will be lulls, and there will also be times when it's. Kicking. Your. Butt. This company has a hard startup culture, so you'd better be prepared for it. You're also going to have to self-motivate because nobody is going to stand over you with a whip, you have to be able to work hard and independently. It's not for everyone.

5.0
15 Feb 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

bueatiful very nice company everyone is good

Cons

non, all was great no one was bad

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