Good Experience - Suggest - Manager Zoku Employee Review

Since Zoku is a small company, you are sitting next to the owners and interacting with them on a daily basis. These guys are super interesting, passionate about the Company, and each have a different area of expertise. As someone reporting directly to the owners, I can say that they have always been respectful to myself and to everyone I have witnessed them interact with. They truly care about the Company and are doing all they can to make the brand a household name, which is pretty motivating to watch. Everyone who works there is dedicated and smart and is learning and growing with the company. The owners have set high expectations for employees and expect you to put in more than 100%, however they still remain approachable and understanding and respectful of the work/life balance. It's a super exciting and creative environment to work in.

The hiring process is a bit lengthy. However, it goes back to what I mentioned earlier that the owners are looking for really great people to join their tight knit team so if you do get an offer, it makes the whole process worth it.

Zoku employs some of the most friendly and talented people I've worked with. They design, develop and sell their own products, which affords members of their creative team opportunities to contribute to the entire R&D process, from market research and product development to manufacturing, trade shows and even product support. There is room to expand and redefine your role within the team over time based on your personal interests. Zoku is a growing company, and as an employee, I felt I was able to contribute to the growth of the business and brand. My own skills and knowledge grew as well, with encouragement and support at all levels.

Some people may object to "wearing multiple hats", but this is commonplace in smaller companies. If you happen to develop an issue with a team member, it can be hard to isolate yourself from interaction, again attributable to the tight-knit team structure. While I was at Zoku, I saw turnover I would attribute to these "cons". My role oscillated between being almost autonomous and self-directed to being closely managed, depending on the project... if you don't know which management style you work best with, be open and up front about your needs. A good deal of product development does not make its way to production, for many many good reasons - this was a hard realization for me at first, but something I would attribute to the nature of the business, and not the culture at Zoku.