Bending Spoons

Let's start from some objective evaluation. For many years Bending Spoons has been in the top spots of Great Place To Work rankings. As of 2023, it's the #1 of its category in Italy. In my view I'd add: - Excellent teammates. The level of the team in Bending Spoons is high, both on a professional and personal level. Having the chance of working with people you value, and them being amazing all-around, makes for a wonderful working environment. - Interesting challenges. Working on real problems with solutions that aim to be first-class in the world is motivating. The environment is highly demanding, but to me that's a plus. - Amazing prospects for personal growth.

As a result of the former two points, and the fact that each contributor has thorough ownership of his work, you have plenty of opportunities to grow. - Great benefits. Full-remote work, company retreats, lunch (and good snacks) if you work from the office, beautiful offices, company activities, yearly welfare budget, parental support, paid-for sport activities with other employees. I could mention more, the list just doesn't end. - Fair salaries. In Milan, I'd be surprised to find more competitive companies. The compensation policy and career paths are shared transparently. - Great founders. Both from a professional and personal point of view I couldn't ask for better company founders.

I personally have great admiration from them, and learned from how they managed the company. - Flexible time off. You can take time off whenever you want very easily, without having to think about asking your boss whether you can take some days off. The answer is: you can. The only expectation is that you make it work with your team, which isn't an issue almost ever. - Excellent prospects for the future. The company has been growing steadily in the past years, and the outlook for next ones is just as positive. - Friendly environment. People find friends in the company. Lots of Spooners hand out and travel together in their free time.

• The environment is demanding. The goals are ambitious, and you need to put effort in to be a strong contributor. To me, this is actually a pro and a requirement for a great workplace. If hard work isn't something for you, then I'd suggest looking for another company. To be clear, the effort required is a "fair one". You should deliver great work, but no one will come ask you to work outside normal working hours.

• The compensation review can be off at times. This is my first job, so I can't compare this aspect with other companies. Perhaps it's no better.

• Improve the compensation review process and make it more frequent. In 2022 the company decided to switch from 2 compensation reviews per year to 1. This is insufficient. Leads easily forget about assessing team contributions objectively until the time is due.