Pros
There is not a single person at the company (or even previously with us) that is not 100% behind the company’s mission and dedication to making an impact in our communities and building the hub for civic engagement. The company’s leadership team has not only built a company before, but they’ve done it together — there’s a winning combination there of senior leadership that knows how to navigate sometimes turbulent waters together. Within the company, the individual team leaders actively support each other and there are no big egos involved. In fact, several team leads have voluntarily stepped up and into roles where there was a need to move the teams forward. And, most critically, at the front lines, team members actively look for ways to move the product forward and have can-do attitudes. The company also does remote work well. I’ve been at companies where remote work hindered forward progress and this is not the case at icitizen. I, myself, work remote at times and have found that it has enabled me to bring my best self to the table while also taking care of myself and family.
Cons
What we’re building is not easy and isn’t always “fun” — that’s exactly why this hasn’t been done before and why what we do is called “work”. Otherwise, someone would have done this before and the company wouldn’t need to pay us for what we bring to the table. I have personally been part of some difficult times (mentioned in other reviews on Glassdoor) that the company went through earlier this year. However, I have also been part of the solution and helped the company move through difficult times, address issues, and move forward. Forward progress isn’t always a straight line from origin to destination. Just like building a product, building a company is an iterative process. Like lean product development, the company and leadership is identifying/responding to problems, planning out solutions, implementing, evaluation outcome, and then iterating. The key is that we are morphing and that this takes time and change isn’t always easy or comfortable. What I can say is that through these difficult times two vastly different types of individuals have emerged - 1) those who will push through and work to overcome issues and focus on and OWN working toward solutions and 2) those who have only wanted to point out the problems and expect someone else to fix them. Fortunately for the company, we’re a lean team now of Type #1 individuals, all working together and owning our outcome.