Vantaggi
A close-up lens into the renewable energy industry, though immediate real-world impact is limited.
Smart people.
Flexible work hours and PTO, including leave for new parents; good health and dental.
Svantaggi
Throughout my time at Geli, the company model (literally business 101: "We are selling X to Y for the purpose of Z") was never even vaguely defined. No mission statement or roadmap was created until maybe a year ago.
As a result, the company never really had one particular focus. Rather than building an excellent part(s) of a larger product platform, the end result is just a mediocre software platform with no real immediate advantage over any of its competitors.
You can't build a house on top of shifting sands. Many repercussions follow from the above:
- Poor resource allocation of employees. What was once a key milestone last week, is shelved indefinitely. No warning or even an adequate explanation.
- Difficulty in raising money, since it's hard for customers to buy into an ill-defined product.
- Partnerships lost or compromised, based on poor focus and execution.
- Few paths for employee growth, since interests are constantly shelved for the hot-button topics of the moment. Raises and title upgrades are few and far between due to financial constraints.
Worst of all: rogue "skunkworks" operations by the executive team in a desperate attempt to control the direction of the company, leaving employees and everyone else involved in the dark.