Poor management - Anonymous employee SingleStore Employee Review

1.0
12 Jan 2016
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Good compensation and nice office

Cons

Don't believe the hype: the product (a distributed in-memory database) isn't all that remarkable. There are many other contenders in a similar space (many open-source) with similar feature sets that are far more reliable and better stress-tested. Do your research before deciding to invest your talents here. Of course, the product isn't terrible, so it's not surprising MemSQL has gained a small market share. Unfortunately, the company is terribly managed. This is most notable on the business side, where those in charge have surrounded themselves with sycophantic cheerleaders. As a result, they've created an environment where the agility so necessary to a successful startup is almost impossible. When fundamental problems arise, management will generally avoid the core issues and hire a new employee as a band-aid. This "growth" is then touted as a sign of health — when it is actually a result of dysfunction. The problems with management are so obvious that they create a toxic internal environment. In my first week at MemSQL, I realized that a sizable fraction of my co-workers felt contempt for the company and were actively looking to leave ASAP. The turnover rate is astronomical (even for a startup). Not only is this detrimental to morale, but it is truly horrible for business — (as it takes over a year to train each new employee to expert status). MemSQL does pay well, have a cool office, and offer various other fun perks. But keep in mind that this is because they have to — since the majority of their employees don't really want to be working there.

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SingleStore Response
10y
Thanks for taking the time to leave your comments . We value everyone's feedback, both positive and negative. We are sorry that your time with MemSQL did not meet your expectations, and would like to invite you to reach out to our CEO, Head of HR, or anyone on the Talent Team to further discuss your experience here. Our employees are always encouraged to be open and honest in providing feedback at any time. Our CEO has continuous 1:1 sessions with every employee to discuss areas the Company is doing well, not so well, and what is most important to that employee. In addition, the Company conducts anonymous Employee Engagement Surveys where employees are welcome to leave comments. Exit Interviews are held with employees leaving the Company to collect feedback on their experience at MemSQL. All of these avenues provide us a constant feed of ideas to continuously build a better organization as we grow. Thank you again for your candid thoughts, and please feel free to reach out to us directly with any more comments.

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