Sonata One Reviews

3.5

59% would recommend to a friend

(46 total reviews)

66% positive business outlook

Sonata One has an employee rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars, based on 46 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Sonata One employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Finance industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

46 reviews
2.0
20 May 2026

The idea: great. The execution: diabolical.

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Most of the people across the company are genuinely great, willing to help, share knowledge, and show up when you need them. That part is real.

Cons

Unfortunately, the cons outweigh the pros. A few worth knowing: • The hybrid policy has crept up to 4 days in office, with a clock-watching, 8-hour butt-in-seat culture. • Benefits are thin and salary increases are barely noticeable. • The Cape Town office isn't set up for real work. It's noisy, there's nowhere to step away from your desk without the whole office feeling it, and nothing that helps you switch off or recharge. It's a place you endure, not one that supports you. • Leaders and managers have little real voice. It's a puppet show: the CEO holds all the strings. • You're encouraged to "challenge," but it's mostly for show. Raise a real problem and you'll get acknowledgement, then silence. • Priorities shift constantly. Ideas get dropped before they're fully thought through, and pivots happen overnight because "someone" said so. If a salary at the end of the month is all you need, you'll probably be fine here. If you care about the work itself, want the tools to do it properly, and need an environment with real culture, fairness, and consistency, this isn't it. Run and run fast.

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Sonata One Response
1mo
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback on your experience at Sonata One. We value all feedback, as it helps us continually improve the employee experience across our global business. Our culture is built around our values, challenge, change, connect and commit, and we’re focused on creating an environment where people can build their careers, grow personally and professionally, and make an impact as our business continues to scale. We appreciate your perspective and the role you’ve played in our ongoing journey, and we wish you every success as you continue to move forward in your career.
2.0
22 Apr 2026

Could be a great business but the Founder needs alot of work

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

- Some really amazing and hardworking employees who know their stuff and are genuinely there to build something great and make a difference. - Great idea which has the potential to dominate the private market - Decent(ish) salary

Cons

Sadly, I believe that 80% of the issues/cons stem from the Founder. If you're considering working here, just know that the business is run in an autocratic top-down way. - The Founder is 'the biggest' problem that I found during my tenure here. He is a chronic micro-manager who has to make every decision. He has a terrible need to control everything, down to how excel sheets and ppt slides should be coloured and presented. Unfortunately there is no decision-making authority given to the C-suite and Senior Management - it all lies with the Founder alone which means there is absolutely no shared input - it's one way or the highway. - The Founder for some reason thinks he's the smartest person in the room and therefore whatever he says is gospel....(in his head); even though everyone else can see the car crash that lies ahead. - Too many initiatives pulled out of the sky with no discipline on what's most important to focus on for the year. Every other week there's something new that must be delivered without the flexibility of deprioritizing other things. You then have overworked, under-inspired and underappreciated employees.  - In my opinion alot of the business decisions made by the Founder are from an emotional place rather than an objective "what's best for the business view". This is the risk when you are the only decision-maker. Very dangerous to the business! Every time I asked why a decision was made the answer I got was "because the CEO said so". This is an archaic way or running a business and not how successful businesses in modern times operate.

avatar
Sonata One Response
1mo
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback on your experience at Sonata One. We value all feedback, as it helps us continually improve the employee experience across our global business. Our culture is built around our values, challenge, change, connect and commit, and we’re focused on creating an environment where people can build their careers, grow personally and professionally, and make an impact as our business continues to scale. We appreciate your perspective and the role you’ve played in our ongoing journey, and we wish you every success as you continue to move forward in your career.
5.0
3 Sept 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Offers medical aid and gym subsidy. Flexible work hours.

Cons

High employee turnover is concerning especially for a new company,

avatar
Sonata One Response
7mo
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. We’re glad to hear you value our benefits offering — we’re committed to offering benefits that support employee well-being. We also appreciate your honesty regarding areas for improvement. As a scaling company, we recognize that periods of higher turnover can occur, and we are actively focused on strengthening retention through clearer career paths, enhanced onboarding, and continuous employee engagement. Diversity, equity, and inclusion are core to the culture we are building, and we are reviewing our leadership-development programs and recruitment processes to ensure we support equitable advancement for all employees. Thank you again for your constructive input — feedback like yours helps us continue improving and building a workplace where everyone can grow and thrive.
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Glassdoor has 49 Sonata One reviews submitted anonymously by Sonata One employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Sonata One is right for you.