Epitome of startup culture - good and bad - Anonymous employee Spreetail Employee Review

4.0
Dec 7, 2018
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

I was so lucky to have found Spreetail. No other job has developed me as professionally. I heard that professional development is measured in dog years there and it's true! Even if you're fresh out of college, you're expected to figure out big company problems that would plague a much more experienced person. Because you spend so much time in the office, Spreetail makes sure you feel a sense of community with your teammates and your cities. Community events, happy hours, and events where you get to bring your family make it feel like a home. They take their time to hire the right people. Every new coworker that walks in the door is treated with respect and excitement. If they made it through the 99% rate of application rejections, they have something really special to bring to the table. And you can't wait to pester them with questions and get their input on your projects. Management can be so great. I remember when upper leadership members personally took an interest in me. They made sure to tell me what they thought of my business decisions and how they'd like to see me develop over the next few years. Imagine the CEO of Wells Fargo pulling you aside to say they like your work! You WILL become so much more than your starting position. I only wish I had branched out more and gotten experience in a different field while I was there. I've seen teammates branch from marketing, finance, customer experience, creative, into software, people and culture, communities, and website. If you tell a team lead you want to work with them, they'll do their darnest to get you there.

Cons

They ask so much of you. The CEO has said they don't want people who will just work 45 hours a week. They don't want people who want to be a good employee, a good partner, a good parent, and develop themselves personally to their fullest. They want people who want to be good at one thing. They make money by being efficient. Sometimes that is at your expense. If you switch from hourly to salary pay, they lower your expected hourly rate. Meaning they only intend for you to hit your previous weekly pay by getting at least five hours overtime in a week. The company trip is great! But you're expected to be gone for four days, show up at work if you don't go, and on average the food and other expenses will cost a couple $600 total. The most troubling thing I found was the lackluster responses to sexual harassment. A coworker had the worst experience (and suspected later ill treatment as a result) after reporting a harasser. Since then, I would ask coworkers of all genders about their experiences and across the board they had ALL experienced problems. They largely ignored the incident at the time and didn't report it. They said they did that because there's no way to report it, no protocol to how to deal with the accused or the victim, and that it was easier to ignore it. I know of three times a coworker brought proof and the harasser was immediately fired. I know more of than a dozen times it was ignored and twice that many that it wasn't reported.

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Spreetail Response
7y
Thank you for sharing this feedback with us. We strive to create a safe, inclusive, and supportive environment where Spreetailers are proud to work, and we're sorry to hear that your experience was not reflective of these values. We take concerns regarding harassment very seriously and would like to know more about what you experienced, as well as share steps we’ve taken to incorporate and improve training for behavioral expectations and reporting protocol during employees’ first week with the company. Please contact Emily Olinger, Head of People & Culture, at emily.olinger@spreetail.com to discuss. Thank you.

Explore other reviews about Spreetail

5.0
Feb 27, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
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Pros

Fun atmosphere, good benefits, flexible schedule with full time remote option.

Cons

Not a lot of options for cross training in other areas.

2.0
Jun 1, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

They are good at hiring many different terrific people.

Cons

Same thing you've read before. Cult-like culture. Weaponized, encoded feedback. Gendered expectations—I was given "feedback" to shrink myself to fit in; would they have said the same thing to a guy? Best was when my lead encouraged me to submit an anonymous survey for "feedback" on my character and performance to my entire team. :/

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