Avoid at all costs. CEO and Senior Leadership treat the company like their own personal playground. - Anonymous employee BruMate Employee Review

1.0
7 Dec 2022
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Startup experience and a growing brand

Cons

Pretty much everything else. CEO treats the product as his own sandbox. He makes changes to the website and marketing content without consulting others. He takes month long vacations whenever he wants but won’t let employees work remote temporarily. He also doesn’t believe in setting goals even though the company has investors to be accountable to. CFO verbally abuses his staff and vendors. CEO would rather pump money into redesigning a cup lid last minute than hiring the right in-house support for important projects. A certain senior leadership team member will not show up for work whenever they want and wastes company time and money on meaningless pet projects but will never be disciplined because they’re “friends” with the CEO. If you enjoyed sucking up to the cool kids in high school, working around the clock, and making below market compensation rates, then this could be a the right fit for you. Otherwise, run far and fast away to literally any other company.

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BruMate Response
3y
As the founder and CEO of BrüMate, as well as the head of product development and design, I lead the team with an innovation first mindset, always focused on improving our products and pushing our brand and team forward. I am not sure "sandbox" is the right word, but I have a burning passion for product and our team does as well. I work closely with all teams, including marketing and creative, and if any changes are made it is part of a group discussion to ensure the whole team is aligned. We do quarterly goal setting not only as a brand, but as a leadership team, and all of our leaders on the team are responsible for ensuring their respective teams understand what those goals are and how they can contribute as well as quarterly check-ins to see how the team is progressing. I am sorry that you felt that was not the case, and will work with the team to figure out how we can make those goals more clear going forward. I am by no means perfect as a leader, but leadership is a lifelong journey and I am constantly striving to be better. When I do come up short, I am the first to acknowledge it and ensure I don't repeat that mistake twice. Regarding some of the other commentary, I think there are some misunderstandings and I want to be sure that I clear those up to the best of my ability. 1) Over 20% of our team is fully remote, and we operate in a hybrid work-environment so I am not sure where that idea that you're not allowed to work remote is coming from. We have also had multiple non-remote team members work for extended periods out of state for a variety of reasons without issue. 2) In my 7 years since starting BrüMate I haven't taken a day of vacation where my laptop wasn't with me and I wasn't accessible for my team at all times via email, slack or phone. I always make sure I am available for the team no matter what I am doing. 3) Our compensation packages are ~20% above benchmark and our annual raise range is 75% higher than the national average. We post salary ranges for all roles, and the hiring process is a negotiation with our potential-employees ultimately having the final say as to whether or not they are happy with the offer we are able to provide. 4) I am not sure who / what the reference in regards to meaningless pet projects is about, but I can assure you that every project our team has budget for and is actively working on is driving this company and team forward and serves a purpose. I will ensure that our high-level initiatives and the purpose they serve going forward is more clear.

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5.0
26 Feb 2024
Anonymous employee
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CEO approval
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Pros

- Fun and fast paced work environment - Growing company with lots of room for personal/professional growth - Ownership on projects - Strong team dynamic - Transparent company performance

Cons

- Growing pains in some areas that require flexibility

3.0
3 Feb 2026
Anonymous employee
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CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Paid for benefits European Holiday Structure Expensed Company Events Dog-Friendly Good Company Morale Decent Pay

Cons

Poor management within divisions Very Clique-y Favoritism

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