Using technology in favor of the bottom line
Pros
Great downtown offices, tons of snacks, drinks and beer, free coffee, catered lunches, nice views of Puget Sound, employee discounts for home purchases, free health care (employees will have to pay next year)
Cons
If you care about your job or want to have an impact on your company – don’t work for Redfin. It’s a large corporation beholden to it’s investors, the board of directors and money. The VPs and executives are a mix of charming narcissist psychos and seemingly genuine, smart and down-to-earth people. The middle management layer is a nightmare – here you’ll find a selection of all the most classic work nightmares: inexperienced kids in their twenties, lackeys, yes people, idiots, backstabbers, micromanagers and other various manipulative, narcissistic types who will leave you running to the shower – or you might find a combo of all of the above! The last round of funding in December 2014 has turned this company into a nervous, panicy, fearful place to work where only results and revenue matter. If you stand in the way of that, be prepared to be forcefully pushed out or fired. If you do only care about results and money, be prepared to work 50-60 hours a week, lie about results and have your already dark and twisted soul sucked out even more. Backstabbing and scapegoating is routine, teams and individuals are running wild doing whatever they feel like. The CEO has the last word on all projects, there is no process, collaboration or accountability. The company is accountable only to money – it's focused on growing, making revenue and proving to their investors that Redfin is a sound business so it can be taken public in the next year or so. Be wary of all departments except engineering. For a young engineer Redfin is great. It's just like an extension of your dorm – a built in social system, people your age (if you’re not 21 there’s lot of people who will buy you beer), other guys who are afraid of girls, sports teams and a cafeteria with free food in it. For all the other departments, especially the ones with no real impact on revenue (HR, recruiting, marketing, PR, writing) wade carefully into piranha infested waters. Don’t join the company now for stock options – after 7 rounds of financing they’re not worth much, join for the free snacks, lunches, watching cat fights, a downtown office and a paycheck!
