Startup job without the neurosis - Anonymous employee Kelvin Employee Review

5.0
Aug 31, 2016
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

It is hard to give an honest review of this company without sounding like a shill, but my time here has been very positive. The team is small (10-20) people, and everyone has a great background for their role. The work environment is very casual and self-directed, and we often break out into group discussions about news or random funny events, which keeps work from getting monotonous (you could focus in with headphones on, if that's your thing). The office is in the Mission District in a diverse neighborhood, and I very much appreciate the quieter surroundings when compared to my friends who work in SOMA, and the easiness of a bike commute if you live in the city. The office is a large space shared with three other (non-tech) companies, and we have access to their industrial machinery space, a CNC machine, 3d printers, and a basketball space out back for breaks. Schedule is relaxed, and is work from home every Thursday. We are working on interesting technical/logistical/business problems, and we have found a very promising niche, which we are rapidly exploring with our new Series A funds. We are combining new developments in sensor hardware and machine learning/optimization, which keeps things interesting compared to optimizing ad clicks or search results. The CTO is a computational mathematics PhD, and it is great to learn from his extensive knowledge, which he is always ready to share and discuss. Because we are still small, every person has opportunity to be self directed and hugely impact the company. This in conjunction with a generous work life balance (rare in SF, but everyone here values their personal life) is why I am so satisfied with my job, and this company.

Cons

You could get a higher salary at Facebook/Google etc, few free lunches, basically only cons are related to compensation since I (clearly) am happy with the work experience.

Explore other reviews about Kelvin

5.0
Jun 24, 2024
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

1- Remote work culture 2- Great work culture and supportive colleagues 3- Great salary and benefits

Cons

Company structure changes from time to time

1.0
Dec 15, 2025
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Provided healthcare plans are competitive

Cons

The previous review has inspired me to write one as well. Let me highlight a few points so you don’t set your career back working here. It is generally accepted within the tech industry that you receive all your shares if you are let go without cause (effectively a cliff vest). Here, however, in your employment contract will be a clause which states that you do not receive any shares unless you are with the company for minimum one year (again, if you are let go without cause that is not up to you!). That means, at any point, the company can claim “restructuring” where you are the only person affected. Even if you are 11 months and 29 days in, you will not receive any of your shares. I will also point out that the meetings here are extremely toxic, just folks hurling manure at each other for an hour; attrition understandably is remarkably high. Finally, the ceo is extremely vindictive and quite hands-on.

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