SingleStore Software Developer reviews

Despite my personal pros, the company never seamed to be able to define a clear vision for their product and go to market strategy or execute on the half baked ideas they came up with. A lot of other reviews have placed the blame on the current management and its contribution to creating a bro culture. I think those comments are valid but don't fully explain why the company is headed in the wrong direction. A lot of companies can succeed even when the culture is toxic. Just look at Uber. The problem with SingleStore's management is they don't understand the market and aren't patient or focused enough to try. And for a database company they are appallingly un data driven. The criticism that Raj has hired only his friends and 'yes men' is entirely true. Once again, the CEO hiring her friends doesn't mean the company will fail. Unfortunately, this CEO's friends lack relevant experience and are totally incompetent when it comes to building and managing teams. The saddest part is SingleStore's problems were entirely foreseeable and straight forward to address. Because this company's management doesn't appreciate data or have the courage to make difficult decisions like letting go of certain executives I don't think it will have an IPO. I do, however, think it makes a very sensible purchase for a PE company like Vista or Silver Lake - I'm buying my shares.

- Very high turnover, even for a startup. Specifically for the cloud team, several managers and senior engineers were hired and let go within months. This is bad for team morale and young new graduates were often left with little guidance and confusion. - SRE's are extremely overworked at the moment. There are too few SRE's for the number of customers that need to be supported. - Promotions are difficult. There are very few promotions to give out, and it is unclear to employees what exactly needs to be done to get to the next level. - Lack of transparency. Engineering management and the CEO seem to send different messages. Engineering management seems to be more prudent/cautious on messaging related to company growth while the CEO sometimes gives long and convoluted answers to yes/no questions. It is hard for an engineer to understand exactly how well or how badly the company is doing. - Previously strong engineering culture has slowly been eroded by marketing and sales. The focus of the company at the moment is on selling and growth. As of now, most new features being built are attempts to see what sells and what does not.