Blavity reviews

2.7

21% would recommend to a friend

(85 total reviews)
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Morgan Debaun

20% approve of CEO

17% positive business outlook

Blavity has an employee rating of 2.7 out of 5 stars, based on 85 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an average working experience there. The Blavity employee rating is 27% below average for employers within the Media & Communication industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

85 reviews
1.0
Oct 11, 2019

What a nightmare.

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The exceptional black talent in the office and networking opportunities.

Cons

I am a naturally optimistic person, which is why I ignored the Glassdoor reviews before accepting the job offer with this company. This organization is full of sharp and friendly lower level employees, but is undeniably tainted by the poor guidance of the company’s CEO. Morgan’s inflated idea of her skill level is running the company into the ground. In general, MD was a roller coaster of ups and downs. I very frequently felt like my work day was going to be determined by an adult’s temper tantrums. She promoted a culture of trying to convince employees that they were incompetent or incapable of doing their job. Most of my assignments were reactionary and everything was presented as emergent based on the MD’s dissatisfaction. Because of the CEO, many including myself would not want to be promoted at Blavity in order to maintain as much distance as possible. Morgan is pushing a narrative that people don’t treat her with respect in the office because she’s young, black and a woman. On the contrary, most people including myself were encouraged to join the Blavity family (despite the enormous pay cut) because they respect the fact that the company is run by a young, black, and female CEO. Unfortunately, you find out afterwards that she lacks the education, interpersonal skills, and experience necessary to sustain this operation. I suspect that sheer disappointment is the leading cause of the high turnover. In my opinion, nowhere is perfect but every company has to pick a struggle. For me there was no incentive to continue at Blavity with so many different issues: an unprofessional CEO, extreme disorganization, low pay, high stress, and a generally depressing environment because people are constantly discussing and plotting their escape. I wish the remaining team the best of luck and anticipate the business failing within 2 years, unless Morgan can swindle a fool into purchasing it before then. Maybe they (with God’s help, because they’ll need it) can turn this train wreck around.

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Blavity Response
6y
Thank you for sharing your feedback. We take your feedback seriously, and are continuing to optimize as we grow.
1.0
Apr 16, 2020
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

I guess you could consider it a "learning experience" albeit a very traumatic one.

Cons

The entire operation is a SCAM. How dare they claim to "love Black people" yet exploit their own employees and greater community.

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Blavity Response
6y
Thank you for sharing your feedback and perspective. We're sorry to hear that you did not have a positive work experience during your time at the Company. Blavity is actively seeking Employee feedback to elevate the Employee experience. The goal is to better align Employee day-to-day work with the bigger mission and vision, which is serving the greater community.
2.0
Dec 11, 2019

"WeWork meets Fyre Festival"

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Many of the employees I've come across are absolutely incredible! Incredible at their job, incredible friends, and incredible peers. The non-Blavity sponsored reunions are a delight!

Cons

At some point, you have to listen to someone other than yourself. Comment after comment alleges fake or coerced employee reviews, which is telling because you'd rather fabricate superficial success than addressing, by strictly listening, to concerns with your team (team meaning client associates, writers/editors, video folks, developers, operations, etc). Good people, and I mean GOOD people aren't replaceable. Hence all the commentary on high turnover and internal decay. Now, you may be saying, "We just don't have the money to pay everyone what they're worth *sad face emoji*" and most understood that when we accepted the job, but we signed up anyways. Much to our surprise we were not only underpaid but we were underappreciated as well. That's not black nor excellence, let alone a combination of the two. In the end, you may sell Blavity, run it into the ground, or keep it afloat; regardless of whatever happens, regardless of the celebs or pseudo-celebs that are in your corner, and regardless of the success you have in the future you've hurt a whole lot of people on your way there. At least Queen Daenerys will have her Iron Throne.

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Blavity Response
6y
We’re glad to hear you had a great experience with your teammates and internal community. In response to feeling under-appreciated, thank you for raising this. We're always in the state of learning. As we continue to scale the business and evolve the company culture, we are building new internal structures that aid employees and Hiring Managers to create open and transparent dialogue, and a regular cadence for ongoing performance feedback, to both Junior employees and upper management as well.
Viewing 13 - 15 of 85 Reviews

Glassdoor has 134 Blavity reviews submitted anonymously by Blavity employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Blavity is right for you.