Airtable

Airtable is a high-quality product that is beloved by users. It has transformed the way many people work and has a promising growth trajectory.

The mission, to "democratize software creation," is noble. It attracted principled people driven towards that mission. It is easy to find ambitious, positive employees at Airtable. This earnest attitude was very motivating.

I was well-paid with good benefits. When I received my offer, I was surprised at how high the pay was. My ancillary benefits were great too. Parental leave was generous for a U.S.-based company. The office was well-stocked with daily catered lunch when I worked there.

It was difficult for employees to speak up about their concerns.

One employee was fired the week after they brought up an ethical concern about a large customer deal. Many of my colleagues felt like they could not speak out about concerns, and if they did, their concerns were ignored or given non-answers. I saw this happen dozens of times.

Relatedly: Airtable hired a head of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. He did a great job while I was there and seems to continue to do a great job, but leadership seemed to think that these things were his job, instead of everyone's job. We paid lip service to this problem, but our sourcing, practices, and demographics did not reflect a true commitment.

Airtable did not feel like a great place for traditional career advancement. I saw a number of hard-working people passed up for promotions and know a few people who left for this reason, among others.

Airtable's mission to democratize software creation is great, but leadership was doggedly focused on growth and not the mission. I was not the only employee who felt duped—excited to join a positive force, only to be disappointed by our true mission: to make money and increase shareholder value. Perhaps I naïvely assumed a for-profit business wouldn't respond to market incentives, but perhaps Airtable should not tout a righteous mission.

I tried to raise some of these concerns, but they were not addressed to my satisfaction, which ultimately led me to another job. I hope that this negative review will help Airtable improve, because I believe that it has the potential to be a great product.

Company growth is important, but many employees want you to think about other problems.