Would Not Recommend - Anonymous employee ProfitWell Employee Review

2.0
Sep 25, 2020
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The people and dogs allowed in the office pre covid

Cons

Please read the review titled "Not Worth It" a few below. It is a very accurate, thorough, and honest depiction of this company. The 5 star review on top is clearly written by management or recruiting to bury it. When you leave they don't offer to buy your stock back and there is no way to sell it so it is essentially worthless.

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ProfitWell Response
5y
Hey there - PC (CEO of ProfitWell). Wanted to address your comments directly. I wrote a very lengthy response to the review titled "Not worth it", so I'd love for you to check that out, because I believe it'll address some of the same concerns you have, which hopefully helps you get a wider perspective. Ultimately if you feel similarly as that reviewer, I just want to apologize. While I disagree with a good amount of the information relayed in that review, the reviewer and you didn't get a great impression of ProfitWell, nor did you feel like you could openly talk about this or ask questions to get some clarity to check your assumptions. That's on me and the rest of the management team. I'm genuinely sorry. I care a lot about everyone who's worked (or is working) here and while we're never going to be perfect, the bedrock of a good culture is making sure everyone can feel comfortable asking someone or through some channel to clarify situations. I hope my comments in that response help you get a clearer picture of the story and help clear up some fears. That being said, couple of quick comments on some specifics you said in your review: 1. Reviews written by management or recruiting We do not write reviews for anyone, nor do we work to game reviews. Like most review sites, those positively inclined don't always think about posting, so Recruiting does run campaigns from time to time asking team members for reviews. We don't ask them to write something specific, nor confirm if they've written something. Of course, some people do tell us they wrote something (to be fair). I also do get some folks who come to me and personally ask about a negative review. They typically want more insight and then mention their experience is different. If they ask what they can do to help (and only when they ask), I do encourage them to post their own review, but don't tell them or ask them what they'll write. Glassdoor is anonymous so hard to tell, but based on timing I'm sure one of the positive reviews stemmed from one of those interactions. I do not (nor will I) follow up with those people to confirm, because what or if they write is their prerogative. 2. Buying back equity I'm not sure who you spoke with or if you asked, but we do buy back equity on a number of occasions. It's not an automatic when someone leaves the company, but normally around end of year or tax time we'll offer to buy back equity from some folks. This all depends on how much the person had, the current strike price, and logistics. Some folks have a large stake which if bought at a fair price are expensive. Others fit this example - if someone was only here for a year and was entry level, they'll likely have a small amount. Logistically around tax time, it may cost more to administrate their holdings so we'll offer to buy the stake back, but we never force this and in fact have some folks who left very early who still hold on to their interests as they continue to increase in value. In terms of worth, what's unique about our equity is that you outright own it. You didn't have to buy them as options nor do you have to pay taxes on them. I know that's some insight that can get complicated, but this is very different than a lot of companies and has a lot of benefits that allow you to more easily leave and still hold on to their value. If we were to go through a liquidity event or even start distributing profits you would gain in those instances without having to do anything (except pay taxes). Since we're bootstrapped and profitable, these scenarios have a much higher likelihood of getting you some value (and sooner) than a traditional tech company. Hopefully that clears some of your concerns up. Again, apologies if you didn't feel comfortable asking some of these questions. That's on me. If you'd like us to buy your equity back, more than happy to do that. Just reach out to me or PeopleOps and we can carefully explain the tradeoffs and give you a clear offer. Happy to help.

Explore other reviews about ProfitWell

5.0
Oct 14, 2021
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

-Smart, decidated, and cool people to work with from all over the world. -Solid benefits, company owned, employee care focused company. -Forward thinking media plan and marketing. -Unconventional, sometimes to a fault. -Everyone, including the C-suite, are willing to learn and grow each day. -No babysitting. Wants you to be an adult… Even if you are naturally a baby. -Not afraid for people to be disagreeable. -Doing things in media no one else is doing. Long time reader, first time reviewer. I saw some negative reviews and wanted to put forth my 2 cents and experience at PW. I worked for ProfitWell for around 10 months. A truly unique experince that opened to my eyes to new ways of mangement and team thinking. I worked in a creative field, producing various stories and videos for ProfitWell. This wasn’t my first creative job, I have been a television producer and commercial director for many years. I wanted the challenge of helping a singular company with the safety of solid benefits, W-2 instead of 1099, etc… And yes it could be a challenge, I asked and received exactly what I wanted. Ultimately I had amazing creative opportunites pop up that I would have been an idiot for not taking and left the company. However, my experience was a solid one. Something I’ll always remember with lessons that continue to be valuable each day. I see a few people complaining about the pay. I’m surprised by this, you are clearly told what you will make which I believe to be beyond fair for a startup that also offers equity and benefits. It was enough for me to purchase a home, in a COVID market mind you, while also having the best health care and benefits I’ve had in my career. First company I ever worked for that was 100% employee owned and gave me several options when I started, more equity less salary or more salary less equity the decision is yours. I took the more equity option because I believed, and still believe, in the mission. You can make a comfortable living while progressing towards that goal of building something great. Then, sowing your wild oats when success inevitably comes. Also, this is the first transparent company I’ve worked for. Every week I knew exactly how much was in the bank account, where it was coming from, what was in the pipeline and where money was going. I truly felt like an owner. I demand this of all future employers moving forward. Where PW is really unique for me is the CEO. He sees the future of marketing. He just gets it, and trust me that’s rare. In house video production is very forward thinking. If companies aren’t doing this in 5 years they simply won’t survive. Media is a big investment, many don’t truly understand how big. It’s investments like this that prove to me the continued and future success of PW. I come from a world of sharks and bosses that would eat your heart out in front of you without thinking twice. Not so at PW. My leaders at PW truly cared for me. My dog died early into my employment, they sent flowers, told me to take as much time as possible and had my back through the process. But, even more important, they understood how hard it was to lose a loved one like a dog. I believe this shows the strength of their heart and character. The CEO truly cared about my mental and physical health. He would move mountains for anyone. Offering help, advice, a warm meal, a room to crash in or even time to chat through non-work related issues. When I decided to leave and pursue some new opportunies, management and the CEO fought like hell for me to stay. It was an incredible gesture of caring. I felt wanted and cared for, and yes, a little guilty for leaving. But that doesn’t mean he’s a push over. PC, and others, will challenge you, they will push you further than you’ve been pushed to be better. I can see many people not liking this. And yes sometimes it can be difficult. But the question is do you want to actually get better each day? Or just pretend to? I think most just want to pretend to. If that’s the case, need not apply here. Overall ProfitWell can be summed up as a very human experience that I can recommend. You’ll work people that have some of the biggest brains… with even bigger hearts.

Cons

-Sometimes there is a horse by commitie process, stalling progress on projects. -Startup life, many wear various hats that can slow some things down as priorities are shifted around. -I really disliked the review process, not that it wasn’t unfair or painful (I had very high review marks). It’s new and unique per PW and they acknowledge it’s not perfect. I mean which review process is? But, without going into long details it was a process I disagreed with many aspects of.

4
5.0
Jul 4, 2018
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

At the current stage (at least in my opinion), a lot of our success will hinge on the leadership team. The CEO and CPO seem to be in sync and are making a lot of moves currently (right around 50 employees) to make sure we're cutting the fat and pushing us in the right direction (streamlining revenue side of the house, working on more middle management, etc.). At my last company, the leadership team didn't evolve so this is good to see. Mission focus is really, really strong at ProfitWell. We're trying to do a few things that haven't been done before and the communication around those aspects is really inspiring and motivating. Revenue growth is insane right now, which is pushing us forward and you can feel it.

Cons

The wheels feel like they're going to come off sometimes. We feel super behind on hiring and I don't see/feel PeopleOps picking up the pace as much. May be happening and we are bringing on new people almost every single week, but just need more. Company is customer funded, so we're scrappy. That comes with cutting some corners sometimes. Not the important ones, but we're in an older building (not Class A space), so it's warm in the summer (A/Cs help, but can still heat up). Onboarding needs to be better for team members. Right now it's still too much trial by fire.

2
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