Startups are hard, but at Freeform the reward is well worth the effort.
Pros
The problems Freeform is solving are incredibly exciting to work on. There is a cool factor to the tech being developed that sticks around long after the novelty has worn off- the problems are hard, the team is incredibly talented, and the opportunities to add value exist everywhere across the company. Highly collaborative environment- anyone is welcome to dig in and help work on a problem even if it is outside of their discipline or field of expertise. Leadership is very sensitive to the detrimental effects that structural barriers such as process or hierarchy can present, and take an active role to ensure that the team has what it needs to succeed at their given tasks. Freeform has maintained a very high bar for performance across the company since its founding. As a result, the team exhibits a level of natural cohesion that feels genuinely very special to be a part of. You can trust the person sitting next to you not just come through for you on a project but to impress you, surprise you and challenge you to be at your best every single day. Leadership is 100% committed to the success of the company and regularly demonstrate their willingness to roll up their sleeves to get things done. As a professional pivoting into tech from another field, I found this to be incredibly inspiring, and it really helped me leap out of my comfort zone and start building alongside the rest of the team. Despite the intensity, it is an incredibly relaxed, friendly and accepting environment.
Cons
Operational efforts are often deprioritized for the sake of immediate engineering progress. Time management could be better across the company. Meetings regularly start late or wander off track and missed deadlines are not regularly root-caused / examined for opportunities to improve.
