"Not For Crybabies" - Anonymous employee Mad Employee Review

2.0
31 May 2018
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

I had to write this after seeing the "crybaby" review. Ironically, that review also summarizes what's wrong with the way this company works. But first, the good: -"Can do" attitude is there. -Access to extremely diverse and high-tech resources. -Opportunity to wear many hats -Client-facing experience for junior employees -Casual atmosphere -Lots of great, talented staff.

Cons

This company suffers from trying to apply a scrappy start-up attitude that it should have outgrown a long time ago. It has a "can do" attitude in that it tries to do everything, often with some success, but what you'll discover, even if you're a tough-as-nails creative powerhouse, is that you will simply never have enough time to do a truly great job. Never mind how stress-proof you are: you simply will not have the direction or resources to do work you're really proud of. By the time you get started on something, you've already been volunteered to deliver "kick-ass" work in 3 days for five other clients. What's worse about this is that the tight timelines are often created by management, not by clients. I have literally watched certain leaders wait until the last possible moment to "issue" a project to the creative team, when they had known about the project, and its potential deadlines, for almost an entire month. The only time projects ever come out decent is when the designers stay after hours (a common occurrence in a place that is already 9 to 6.) The culture basically consists of worshiping work, encouraging hyper-long hours, feeding everyone sweets to make the morale better, then wondering why everyone seem so miserable. There are signs that the company is on its way to improving in some of these fields, but a lot of that rides on the will of the company's CEO and whether or not he can get back in touch with his company or hire people who can. I will say that for all of the negative aspects of the company's current situation, I think that the leadership would *like* things to change, they just don't know how yet.

Explore other reviews about Mad

5.0
13 May 2024
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

CEO is awesome in every way

Cons

There are absolutely no cons

2.0
6 Jan 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Good salary and benefits, especially given the industry. Good exposure to artists and learning about work.

Cons

Little to no training, distrust between employees, disorganized. I was salaried but there was an expectation I would work over 8 hours when museum was open. It was hard problem solve or ask questions without being met with outright aggression. This instilled fear in team and morale was on the ground. Historically high turnover rate. It feels like the founder almost wants you to be a mind-reader.

See reviews by: Helpful|Rating|Date|All