Pros
- Salary always on time even in dire times *slow claps* - Above average transparency sometimes (though they didn't need to go all Childish Gambino with those youtube videos) - Attractive for expats to shake your hips. Shake it till you make it.
Cons
There is a Yuge difference in opportunities, career growth, pay scale, treatment, responsibilities and perception depending on whether you are an avocado-on-toast western or nasi-lemak-for-breakfast local. For a startup operating in 7 regions in SEA, it's uncanny that top 3 levels of management are solely western. The locals start from mid to lower levels in the organization. Decisions are made by a nuclear bunch of mid 30 male senior management on their cold press juices and dip teas who have little understanding of how the market works, and worst of all, how the culture works in this part of the world. After increasing backlash internally and externally did they choose to hire a couple of sub-par chocolate pastries for the sake of calming people down and to show that they are 'diversifying' If you are western, you will climb the ladder very fast for the same contribution as opposed to a local. Perception matters. Results are a fart in the wind here. Western interns get CXO level reception even before they join while a local interns' name wouldn't even be known. It's Jack and Rose moment when the former leaves the company while the latter has to Dunkirk their way out. You are 'cool' if you join the elite for social interactions out of work, chugging malt and hops, pool parties and nightouts. The western interns are paid 3-5 times the stipend of a local intern which also matches local permanent employee salaries. The senior management has taken this discrimination for granted being too engrossed in their bubble. The toothpaste is out of the tube already. Talent that has built the company has fled or fleeing with the club favorites remaining leading to a laughable manager-subordinate ratio with more people telling one what to do than actually doing. When you go all congress on the management, they parakeet that they are able to find 'good' talent only from developed markets as they have good connections there. Bums me if after staying in the region for 3+ years they still haven't been able to make worthy connections in SEA. No wonder the numbers were such a run down. The career ladder is a joke. They double and triple promote the same people in their kingsman circle. Promotions within their disney group sees no rules and regulations but when it's for someone outside their comfort zone they come up with 17654 objections to show you why you can't make it. More often than not, managers have zuckerberg'd their way up the ladder winklevossing subordinates on ideas and hard work. Senior management have no remorse in firing employees based on perception and their 'view' on being a fit to the company. They set their own snowflake bars which they believe are appropriate. They think there is nothing wrong with that, where once, a CXO, instead of focusing on resolving issues, blatantly stated that employees are free to leave and that he will do whatever he wants. It's funny that they never looked back and thought its actually their own incompetency that's adding nails to the coffin. Either way, it's just another me-too startup run like a house of minions.
