Pros
Working at ALIVE, there are many preconceived pros. The most beneficial asset ALIVE gave to me was resources and connections. By having a title at ALIVE opened doors.
Cons
ALIVE's business is built on creatives and small businesses in the Midwest. That's what attracted me to the brand in the first place, the sense of community and getting stories out about good people doing good things. I quickly learned that this was all a front. I was promised a health membership upon signing on, this never happened. I went above and beyond during events, working loads of overtime, bringing great results, but was paid about $15k/annually under the normal rate for what I do. Besides being overworked and underpaid, the perceived values of the company were not actually being upheld internally. Brand dissonance is a major issue within ALIVE--saying they are one thing but business practices not matching up. For example, ordering food for business meetings from national chains instead of a locally-owned joint, or saying they were authentic and transparent but only giving half truths to the staff and not being true to their values. ALIVE management was not honest with the staff on many levels, especially the state of the company. Management was not up to par, hiring and promoting people based on favorites, not actual management skills, which ultimately lead to my departure. They are not authentic, they are not transparent.