Lygos Reviews

3.9

76% would recommend to a friend

(11 total reviews)

42% positive business outlook

Reviews by job title

11 reviews
3.0
20 Sept 2021
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The people were wonderful (except management), and the company had a family feeling. The unlimited PTO is very nice, and I was never made to feel that I could not take time off. There are free lunches once every 2 weeks, and employees (not management) did a good job planning holiday parties and throwing fun events (though these employees have since quit or been laid off). I made a lot of close friends while working here, and we are all still in touch; however, none of them work at Lygos anymore, but I have to commend them for hiring great people who had similar interests and got along extremely well. There was also great work/life balance; most people do not work past 5pm.

Cons

Half the company was unexpectedly laid off in Q4 of 2019, including folks who had been at the company since it was founded. Employees who had been loyal to Lygos for years were escorted off the property. The CTO and co-founder, Jeffrey Dietrich, also quit in Q4 of 2019. Managers in the biology department show blatant favoritism. Salaries are very low compared to other companies. I do not think this company will succeed, unfortunately. There was a lot of drama during my time here as a result of management's favoritism. Priorities often shifted with little warning from management. The company is no longer focused on its initial goal of creating malonic acid in an environmentally friendly way.

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Lygos Response
3y
Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and experiences on Glassdoor. I am glad to hear that you appreciated the wonderful people at the company, the family feeling, and the good work-life balance. I also appreciate your recognition of the PTO flexibility and the lunch perks, as well as the positive experience you had with the employee-planned events and holiday parties. I understand that the layoffs and the departure of our former CTO and co-founder were significant events for the company -- I am sorry that you had a negative experience as a result. I want to assure you that we take all employee concerns seriously, we are committed to improving the company culture and creating a positive work environment, delivering valuable solutions to our customers and partners and we appreciate everyone’s work that has gone into advancing the company, past, present and future. We are continuously reviewing and adjusting compensation packages to ensure they are competitive and fair. Over the past 12 months, we partnered with one of the best HR and recruiting firms (thanks Espree, Ruba and team!), who have been helping us in this regard. Additionally, we are making a greater effort to address concerns around favoritism and management's priorities shifting with little warning. To address this specifically, one of the things I personally implemented during COVID along with our CFO and CTO was an executive “coffee hour” that regardless of being remote or in person I was available to speak with an open door (mostly virtual, I admit!) giving me and our employees a chance to foster more positive interactions with everyone at Lygos and ensure there are a number of positive channels for discussing all important aspects of our work, including the challenges and accomplishments worth celebrating. We understand that the departure of long-term employees and the change in the company's commercial priorities can be challenging, but we are committed to continuing to improve and provide a positive work environment for all employees while delivering long term value to our customers and continually innovating, improving, adjusting, and expanding our solutions based on customer needs. Finally, I’m incredibly humbled that many of our top employees (including you!) stayed with us during the most challenging phases of Lygos and that some, who were initially laid off or decided to leave during the challenging phase for Lygos have now returned -- we have a fantastic team and set of employees that are excited to take the charge, carry the torch and work hard to make every advancement of Lygos come closer to a big win for the world. We’ll continue to learn, listen, evolve and focus on delivering sustainable solutions to the market. We have a lot to celebrate from the accomplishments of 2022 and have an exciting 2023 ahead of us! Thank you again for your feedback, and we appreciate your contributions to the company. Since you’re an existing employee, I’d be happy to speak with you more in person or encourage you to reach out to our HR team, your manager, or any avenue that is most comfortable for you.
4.0
29 Mar 2022
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Fun laid back start up culture. Young age demographic of early 30s. Good work life balance and visibility. Used to have great R&D team to learn from. Very open cross functional groups. Upper mobility potential if you meet a good manager.

Cons

Transparency issues from the upper management. Frequent switch in direction and pipeline projects (not for the better) due to lack of business capability and funding losses. No support for middle managers - clear disconnect between the C suite and managers. Lack of prioritization for talent retention (They didn't have HR for the last 2 years).

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Lygos Response
3y
Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and experiences on Glassdoor. I appreciate your feedback and am glad to hear that you valued our company culture and the good work-life balance and visibility. I am also grateful for the recognition of the potential for upper mobility within the company. I understand your concerns regarding transparency, changes in project direction, lack of support for middle managers, and for talent retention at the time. I want to assure you that these are all important issues that we are taking seriously. Our goal is to create a positive, supportive and transparent work environment for all employees. Going forward, we are committed to investing in a stronger business team and in retention, which includes employee development and promotion, as well as increased transparency, communication and accountability. We have hired and promoted new management leaders that are committed to continuously engaging with the R&D team. We believe that happy employees, happy customers, and strong partners will be critical to our success as a business Thank you again for your feedback and for being a part of Lygos. We look forward to continuously improving and providing a positive work environment for all employees.
2.0
12 Feb 2020

Wants Change

Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The staff is very knowledgable of the technology and very supportive of your learning.

Cons

Management could use a reorg. Leadership lacks across the departments. The CEO takes unmeasured risks and ultimately costs the companies resources. Lots of pivoting of unnecessary projects. The C's lack direction, execution, and emotional awareness of their employees.

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Lygos Response
3y
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback on Glassdoor. We appreciate your honest opinions and are committed to continually improving the workplace experience for all of our staff. We take your concerns regarding management seriously and have taken steps to address these issues. Our leadership and key management team has undergone reorganization and training to improve communication, direction, and execution across departments. We understand your concerns about changing and evolving business direction to satisfy commercial objectives and have implemented a stronger communication system, including all hands, coffee chats, and key operational meetings to ensure all departments are informed and aligned on executing our mission. In addition, we understand the importance of treating our employees with respect and appreciation for the hard work and dedication they bring to the company. We are committed to providing fair salaries and benefits and fostering a supportive and inclusive work environment. Thank you again for your feedback and for being a part of our team. We will continue to strive for excellence and make Lygos a place where our employees can thrive both professionally and personally.
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