GitLab

Interview with a bunch of companies, especially high-tech ones. Each one will tell you about their amazing culture and their special values. It gets pretty old, pretty fast.

But interview with GitLab, and immediately it becomes clear that something is different, truly different, unique.

From the moment I began speaking with people at the company during the hiring process, all the way through my first month at the company (as of this writing, I'm pretty new), I've been impressed that absolutely everybody lives the values every moment of every day.

What it looks like is a constant sharing of information and ideas, with even the newest employees being encouraged to contribute from day one. It's really very cool.

It's also important to note that this company has no offices anywhere. Everyone works from home, or from wherever. And we're spread around the world.

It's wonderful to be free from commuting, to have extra hours added back to your day. And because remote work is what everybody in the company does, GitLab has figured out ways to do this well, from making it really easy to set up your home office, to providing all the communication tools and framework you need to be and feel connected to your colleagues at all times.

No, GitLab isn't perfect. But with a strong product to offer customers, a tremendous growth trend, and a strong set of heartfelt values that includes a genuine desire to be continuously improving everything about the company, there aren't any long-term cons that I have spotted.