Clio

A performance-first culture pushes everyone to look for ways to get better. "Good enough" isn't the mentality here, and most folks are there to do their best work and improve what they do.

A strong feedback culture exists (if you're open to it; if you aren't, you won't be a fit).

Pay is above market, though if you're after GAFA/Silicon Valley salaries, you'll be disappointed.

Fantastic benefits are offered, including a stipend specifically for therapy (you'll need these).

There's excellent and well-defined in-house onboarding, career progression frameworks (levels), as well as learning and development resources for those invested.

Ostensibly very socially progressive, the company tries to create an inclusive environment and make employees feel heard.

The engineering organization has well-established team norms and has built awesome in-house tooling.

You will work with some incredibly talented people and be pushed to reach the next level. You will learn a lot.

An "up or out" environment. If you're not growing at the expected rate, investing in your learning, or having the expected impact (whether due to your individual performance, team performance, or environment), you are underperforming. Despite a defined progression framework, career opportunities can be limited unless you can meet the very high bar set and/or you're around long enough.

Folks are exited regularly if they aren't meeting expectations, and Clio doesn't waste any time here.

Competitors are starting to take a bite out of Clio's market share, and it remains to be seen how Clio will adapt. As a result, many decisions are reactionary, and the roadmap is top-down in many cases.

The tech stack isn't particularly modern, though work is being done in this regard.

A low-process environment, which is sometimes a plus, can lead to trouble for those who are uncomfortable with ambiguity or constantly shifting priorities. The upside is the environment can enable creativity depending on your circumstances.

If you aren't comfortable with navigating a certain constant degree of chaos, Clio isn't the environment for you. Clio embraces, sometimes justifies this, and believes it is a competitive advantage.

The "Human & High Performing" culture tries to justify what are sometimes unreasonable expectations. Folks with families or striving to create on/off separation may struggle when stacked up against workaholics or especially driven team members.

Despite the social justice theatre, inclusion or important causes still won't win out if they oppose the business's growth. Pay equity, for example, is a growing concern, and there's still a lot of work to be done. At the end of the day, it is a business that makes decisions business-first.

• Ensure you are hiring the right people who are in a position to succeed in the environment you are cultivating. It will be a fit for some, but not for others.

• Ensure middle and senior managers are able to put teams and individuals in environments where they can succeed and set ambitious goals. Individual skills and growth are just one factor that leads to performance. The same goes for those managers. Many are burned out and in constant fire-fighting mode.

• Be wary of the tech bro subculture that emerges (with folks of many genders) in the high-performance environment you are cultivating, especially with tenure. It surfaces at the individual level and needs to be carefully managed to keep toxic attitudes out.