Hailo Reviews

Let’s metaphorically compare Hailo to a cult. In a cult there are leaders who set the “rules”. In order for a cult to succeed, there are a select few that become “the chosen” ones, they have the same beliefs and also contribute to the rules and philosophy of the cult making it their own. New members are brainwashed into believing they are making the world a better place. If a new member repels the ideologies of the cult they are shunned which is also a form of bullying and thus forced out. Enter Hailo... All departments are full of average people, doing an average job, reporting to average managers, for an average product with only a few exceptions. They have employed novices, that are in the early stages of their career, who are more than happy to roll over for a pat on the head. For those who are in a maturer stage of their career Hailo will be no challenge, the only benefit is the average pay package on offer. Juniors do not benefit either as they only learn the wrong things in the wrong way - again referring to a prior review, a case study on how not to do things. Hailo can be compared to the wild, only the strongest, rudest and loudest win, nothing matters and there are no rules, if someone can walk over you be sure that they will. Hailo have mastered the art of camouflage, they pretend they are something they are not. Both, internally and externally, words are used to hide the truth and mislead individuals - be it employees or investors. After being there for almost a year I finally understood the real motto of the company. The sentence "Fake it 'til you make it" perfectly defines the CTO's strategy and this can be seen in relation to his baby Hailo 2.0. Startup is the wrong word to use, there isn't a single trait that can be attributed to a start up. It lacks culture severely, this could be due to the over emphasis on building a culture and a strategy that is non-existent. Senior management have all been acquired from the corporate world and have no real clue about startup culture. The word startup is just used as a buzzword to entice unwilling participants. There is constant micromanagement and meetings about meetings, everywhere, everyday for anything, with no real work being completed. They talk about strategy reciting the same speech continuously, without any significant change or improvement which shows a clear lack of management experience. Hailo is incestuous, senior management hire either close friends or family for roles that are better suited to more experienced personnel - this resembles the growth of an army of some sort. The CTO is a culprit of such behaviour, with several of his close allies from prior employment now working alongside him on the frontline. The recipe for success is to be, what they call “a team player”, forget about quality of work and definitely don’t question them. I would describe the platform as big for nothing, a waste of money and the catalyst for the CTO's delusions. Don't worry about efficiency when you have bragging rights to a platform which has an imaginary traffic of millions. Forget scrabble, bullying is the preferred game for the CTO, he has a degree in mind games. Using bullying as a tactic to avoid responsibility, to dilute his fear of being seen as weak, inadequate and incompetent and to divert attention away from him and his epic failure “hailo 2.0”.

Management all over the place, feeling of instability in your role (most employees felt/feel this way) and as a result, high turnover of employees. Major competitor is now way ahead in the market, partially down to rigid views and a lot of procrastination to actually make things happen. A lot of backtracking in the general direction of the company and a resources need to be far better utilised. Great when starting up, morale now low and not enough energy or presence from Founders. Work is never ending so depends on how committed you are to a work -life balance vs. feeling confident to leave your desk with unfinished work.