Vantaggi
Full disclosure that I've only recently joined Confluent but this is already unlike anything I've seen in my (lengthy) career. It is the real deal. Wickedly smart, technically astute, and highly empathetic leaders who engage like actual humans. Ridiculously compelling product-market fit. Off the charts run-rate. The culture and values are role modeled at the top and clearly cascade down. It's worth calling out that the team is highly distributed, so while there's a company headquarters based in the Bay Area, there's also a full office in the city, so people don't have to commute unless desired. The same is true for people working remotely from home or in small, growing enclaves where Confluent is using WeWork offices until there's critical mass. Bottom line though, it's not a "you must be in the office" culture and that is refreshingly pragmatic.
Svantaggi
Like any startup growing ridiculously quickly, many things are struggling to keeping pace with the swift rate of growth. We outgrown our HQ, parking is tight, snacks, coffee, and parts of lunch sometimes run out, etc. However we're moving into a ridiculous new headquarters, taking over a parking garage, and hiring on new workplace/facilities people to help keep up. Patience on the little things is required, but the intent is positive and execution gets there eventually.