Culture of Fear & Shadiness - Anonymous employee Toptal Employee Review

1.0
Apr 14, 2023
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

100% remote and good pay

Cons

Would regularly get rid of employees with no notice and no explanation, leaving their teammates confused and worried they were next. Weeks of hard work were thrown away because teams no longer had the bandwidth to support projects, and employees were left to take on the extra work of those that were randomly let go. For months Taso (CEO) told employees on their monthly company meetings that they did not anticipate any layoffs, that there was no need to worry, and that any employees that would be let go would be due to reasons strictly performance related. In February 2023 they laid off hundreds of employees who were shocked and confused, one department at a time, so the other departments didn't know it was coming. Severance was low compared to other tech companies. Laid off employees had no time to collect white-labelled project examples to use to secure their next role or any personal items saved in their Google drives.

Explore other reviews about Toptal

5.0
Jul 1, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Toptal has been my favorite place to work so far! • The flexibility of remote work is amazing. • I’ve had the chance to work with fantastic clients. • The internal team is supportive, talented, and a pleasure to work with.

Cons

Sometimes it can take a bit longer to find a new engagement if you’re looking for opportunities in Asian time zones. In my experience, Europe and the Americas tend to have more opportunities and faster matching.

1.0
Jul 3, 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Met some good dedicated employees and freelance workers.

Cons

Lack of any real industry solutions or capabilities since 100% of delivery services are freelance contractors. Model has been successful as providing staff augmentation to clients, but all intellectual capital and outcomes are owned by the clients or the freelancer. Toptal is simply a staffing platform broker who marks up the freelance talent. Great if you need a plumber, but not if you're planning to build a bathroom.

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