Gong

The founders know what they are doing, and leadership provides clear goals and direction.

The company has many customers, and the product is positioned on a premium platform in the industry.

Work-life balance is good, with a hybrid model (2 days in the office).

While this is a startup, the company has the potential to be profitable whenever it chooses, making the risk of running out of money or facing financial instability very low in the short to medium term.

The people are nice, fostering a supportive and collaborative work environment.

Employees receive two recharge days every quarter, in addition to the 20 vacation days, providing extra time to rest and recharge.

The company actively supports employee involvement in civil activities, even providing a day off for participation in one instance.

While the business and product teams operate smoothly, the R&D culture is lacking in key areas such as quality, accountability, and structured timelines.

Expect at least one organizational change per year due to the company’s pod-based structure. This can result in unexpected reassignments to different teams, managers, or projects, which prioritizes short-term business alignment over long-term strategy.

The frequent re-orgs lead to shortsighted architecture, duplication of efforts, and challenges in identifying ownership of different responsibilities.

Compensation-wise, salary raises are minimal (~3%), and there are no performance-based bonuses. If you're considering joining, negotiate the highest salary you can upfront, as increases later on will likely be small.

Invest more in building a strong R&D culture where engineering excellence, long-term planning, and accountability are valued.

Stability in team structures and strategic technical leadership could significantly improve efficiency and morale.

Competitive compensation adjustments and bonus incentives would also help retain top talent.

Additionally, when quick-and-dirty solutions are acceptable, this should be clearly communicated so that engineers can align expectations accordingly instead of guessing whether quality matters in a given situation.