Pros
I spent over a month interviewing with -- and more importantly, doing a lot of due diligence on -- Solera before deciding to join. I wanted to make sure I knew everything about Solera... especially the people, the culture, the work environment, and the passion of its leaders. I’d like to thank everyone who posted on here, because it helped with my decision to join. I work for a more meaningful purpose, an opportunity to do cool things with awesome people. So with this as a backdrop, here are the pros of working at Solera:
+ THE CULTURE: the importance Solera places on its people -- is amazing. Yes, you see it on the walls in the office, or on their website, or on everyone's desk. And that's easy for any company to do. But what's rare -- and unique to Solera -- is that you can literally feel the culture when you walk in. It's powerful. It's tangible. And it guides everything the company does. It's not just an empty mission statement, or a poetic promise. It's a commitment to the success of the company, and the personal and professional work ethic that is required to get there. Culture... and belief in its people... that is the #1 reason I joined.
+ THE FOUNDER & CEO: To me, it's very important to be part of a company that is still led, managed and heavily influenced by the person who started it. Why? Because of the vision, the passion, the honesty and the realism that only the founder of a company can bring. Any company can hire outside talent to run a functional part of its business, but only a founding CEO can fuel the company with a relentless dedication to continuous improvement and innovation, and to making sure that we're always fighting for something greater, something more important. This is what separates truly innovative and entrepreneurial companies that do awesome things, from those that lose sight of what a business needs to do. Never trust a CEO who doesn't show his passion -- in both positive and challenging situations -- because that just isn't natural, or real, and authenticity is the key to winning customers.
+ THE OPPORTUNITY: The automobile industry has been around for over a century, and except for the recent birth of Tesla, not much has changed. It's heavily fragmented, highly distrusted, and impossible to appreciate. But just like the Tesla story, Solera has faith in technology, in innovation, in people, and in the belief that positive disruption can only happen with these core components in place. Solera's mission is to transform the auto industry to help it go digital — and that’s inspirational.
+ THE FOOD. Yes, free food. But not just any food. Healthy food. Delicious food… Food that feeds your brain… and soul. But its not just the food…. Solera really cares about the health of its team members.
At the end of the day, Solera is a technology company, a software company, an innovation shop... one that pushes the edge of what's possible, and isn't afraid of doing great things -- and investing in those things to make them real. It's a multi-billion dollar company in over 70 countries, but it feels like a fearless entrepreneurial startup. The world’s largest startup.
Cons
Look, I'll be straight: Solera is all about performance, but that is absolutely what is necessary in order for technology and innovation to do awesome things, and shift industries in game-changing ways. There's not a lot of rules on how long or hard you have to work, but that's because Solera has so much faith in its people to do the right thing. So if you're looking for a laid back, 9-to-5 job, Solera is not for you... (and neither is any truly innovative tech company). Solera is for those who want to succeed, and will not stop to do so. #forreal
