PayPal

The company is very successful, and as a result, it can afford to compensate employees very well. In San Jose, the amenities are also very nice: an on-site gym, a nice cafeteria, and a lot of social activities during and after work hours. Employees are encouraged to take advantage of them.

The talent level of the software team is very high. Working with team members and other teams is an enjoyable experience.

Unlike many internet companies, PayPal is driven by a precise business model (payments) as opposed to technology. This has led to the company's success in becoming the dominant online payment system.

The downside to this is that much of the technical decisions and execution were done in haste in order to bring features to market quickly. Also, the nature of payments requires a high degree of coupling between the various components. Because of this, the code and systems put in place sometimes make it a difficult environment to work in.

Management should focus on internal systems so that the product can continue to scale to meet the growing demand for online and mobile payments. If they succeed in doing so during this critical period, PayPal will become one of the dominant companies of the 21st Century.