Pros
* Honestly, the people are the best part of Zan. Some of the most passionate, driven, and community-centered folks I’ve ever worked with.
* The mission is real. People care deeply about the work and the communities we serve.
* You get exposure to meaningful projects and a lot of responsibility early on, which helps you grow quickly.
* Leadership is trying. There’s an openness to new ideas and a willingness to experiment, which I respect.
Cons
* This is the hardest part to say: the environment is unstable, and it’s mostly self-inflicted.
* In a matter of 3 years, around 28 people have left (fired, laid off, quit, etc.), and that makes it really hard to build momentum or feel secure.
* It often feels like leadership is throwing things at the wall to see what sticks. I get the intention, but it doesn’t build confidence for staff.
* Onboarding is tough. Even strong hires and subject matter experts struggle for a long time because the work is so niche. It can take close to a year to feel comfortable, but expectations don’t always reflect that reality.
* The expectations can feel unrealistic: hit 80% utilization, but also show up to happy hours, do professional development, be creative, help fix internal processes… often on your own time. That leads to burnout or people just clocking in and out.
* Growth has historically been tough. It’s felt like new hires were valued more than the people who stayed through the inconsistency (though this seems to be improving slightly).
* The culture sometimes feels stuck in that early 2010s “work hard, play hard” era, but the workforce has shifted.
* DEI is talked about a lot, but at times it can feel performative, especially when clients don’t fully buy in or see the value.
* There also seems to be a lack of real accountability at the leadership level. For example, adopting frameworks like Traction without building in something like an advisory board or external perspective can lead to decisions being made in an echo chamber. From the outside looking in, some decisions feel more like wishful thinking than grounded strategy, and at this stage of the company, that’s risky.