Pros
The pros revolve around 3 main areas: ownership, culture and career development. Ownership: Being a private company, Liferay can (and does) share profits with its employees (and charities), rather than stakeholders. Liferay really works for the wider community: not just the open source one, but for the people (and charities) around the employees. Private ownership also allows it to take a long term view to the market, rather than worrying about each financial quarter/year: if you're in sales, you know the pressure that comes with EOQ! If you are looking to work for a truly ethical company, Liferay is it. Culture. We really strive to help each other whenever we can. In Dublin in particular, we have great fun and are very close to each other. Career development: it is a growing company that is adding new product lines, so there are career options. Last but not least: benefits are generous and we do a lot of extra-curricular activities (5 days of volunteering paid for by company, 500 euros to donate to charity of choice, company retreats, medical insurance, pension contributions, etc).
Cons
The cons are mainly tied to ownership and culture. Being a private company can sometimes take away the urgency that comes with being under public scrutiny: I feel a bit more pressure and accountability around sales/sales process and functions would be beneficial to the company. Sometimes underperformance isn't tackled straight away.