This is, by far, the most reactive company I've ever experienced. Following two blockbuster years in edtech due to additional education from the federal government, DreamBox is facing the cold reality of crowded marketplace and has no idea how to win. So the executive team reacts. And pivots. And reacts again. They have no plan and do not seem to understand that the boon years of 2020 & 2021 were a result of a flood of federal money into education and not because of anything DreamBox did well. Now that the market is normalizing, they are lost and either can't or won't acknowledge that the profitable COVID relief years are gone and will never come back. And, because of that, nearly 20% of the company was laid off in 2022 without a single executive losing their position. Rather than take a hard look at themselves and their lack of leadership, the executives opted for a mass layoff that protected their jobs at the expense of so many people who had nothing to do with the company's downward spiral. Despite urging from several employees, the executives refuse to come up with a cohesive vision or plan for the company and keep doubling down on their previous failed strategies. The leadership is tone deaf when fielding questions from the rank & file and clearly see themselves as special or smarter than everyone else. After the layoffs, execs held two separate internal town halls: the first of which was a prepared presentation with very little time for questions. The second town hall had a lot more time for questions but execs either dodged hard questions (e.g. Why didn't any of you lose your jobs in the RIF?) or provided non-answers. Despite positioning themselves as a tech company, DreamBox does not offer benefits commensurate with other tech companies. 401(k) match is abysmal and there is no unlimited PTO.
