Pros
I could write many different versions of the pros of Textio and why I love working here. But here are some high level illustrations of my experience. Want to work with (not be dictated too) truly visionary Product and UX people? Jensen Harris and Clay Satterfield built Outlook and defined the concept of the “ribbon” in Microsoft word. They know how to go from a design sketch to an in-market product that is so intuitive and engrained in how we work, it represents the category defining standard. They did it at Microsoft, they are doing it every day at Textio. Want to be on a team that values work life balance in a real and genuine way? 2020 was … a lot. In the midst of Zoom fatigue, Kieran Snyder rolled out “Textio Shared Days Off”. These are somewhat random days throughout the year when the whole company is truly offline to recharge. We have unlimited vacation and sick time and are actively encouraged to use it. In the time of Covid, when every runny nose is mandatory 3 days of kids at home, or when we have large chunks of time dedicated to support remote learning, the whole Textio team has been nothing short of amazing. There’s no stigma, only empathy and support. Want to have a whole new level of visibility and awareness? We have weekly All Hands where teams from across the company talk through interesting aspects of their work. Every closed sale appears in a public slack channel so we can all share in the successes of the team, big and small. Kieran writes a weekly message to the company that tells exactly how we’re tracking towards our goals, and what’s on her mind for the week. Every voice is encouraged, and every point of view is appreciated. The people of Textio make the company, the product, and my lived experience truly joyful.
Cons
Textio is going to be remote through at least the end of 2021. This is the responsible decision, given everything we know. However when other companies start to move back to the office, this will prove to be a con for many people. At a start up, there’s an expectation to “wear many hats” in the work you take on, especially as the company grows. Some people find this exciting and challenging! However for people who Textio throughout 2019, there was an expectation that the role they were hired for would be the role they would be in for the long run. This mismatch between expectations and the reality 2020 created has caused frustration in some case.
