Own Company reviews

3.8

61% would recommend to a friend

(360 total reviews)

Sam Gutmann

69% approve of CEO

62% positive business outlook

Own Company has an employee rating of 3.8 out of 5 stars, based on 360 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Own Company employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Informationstechnologie industry (3.9 stars).

Reviews by job title

360 reviews
1.0
Dec 3, 2022

"Better Together" Means Nothing

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Good product. The people at the bottom and middle are what make the company.

Cons

The CEO is very much involved in everything, as this is not a public company. If you are not a Yes Man, your At Will employment will not last long. I ignored a lot of red flags because I wanted to keep my employment. Due to early success with the product the C-Suite Executives have consistently burned money like kindling on events and parties while the employees were nervous about the dangerous economy. Slowing spending was not an option because it would go against the C-Suite's pride. Truly I think they fear letting down the employees, but in the complete wrong way; we all just wanted to be stable and continue growing, nobody needed any blowout parties. This culminated in a mandatory week long party in Las Vegas, which kept on racking up millions upon millions. Decisions were being made over drinks regularly, and the party had to go on. At the same time, they were requiring workers to come back in person to the office, because they were spending millions on building huge offices around the world. This was something the CEO hyped up in what could only be described as Corporate TV, which presumably was also eating up more money. At the same time, many employees noted amongst themselves that the C-Suite Executives did not seem to be setting the example of being in-office consistently. Rules for thee and not for me was generally what people thought. When the Chief Financial Officer left months ago without much word, we all felt concerned. The fact that the Chief Financial Officer has not been officially replaced should tell you a lot. Trust Through Transparency and Better Together are toted as huge tenets of the org but if you tell the Upper Level Management what they don't want to hear, you're marked. I'll likely get a robotic response to this review from the company. Saying that the huge recent layoffs are 'growing pains' is disingenuous. In almost every Town Hall there were employees worried about the economy and its effect on everyone, only to be reassured that OwnBackup is doin just fine! It is probably why multiple long standing members of HR left the company just before things went down. They might also say that 'large internal events are an investment in our employees'. If you are looking at this company keep this in mind: they gambled on this investment and lost. Millions spent on hundreds of people at that event no longer work for the company.

avatar
Own Company Response
3y
While we’ve grown significantly year over year, the world has changed much more dramatically and as a result we have had to make a strategic organizational realignment, impacting employees worldwide. We’ve worked extensively with our Executive Leadership team and board of directors to refine our plans to best succeed in today’s market. Please note that large internal events and employee offsites are an investment in our employees and are typically planned over a year in advance. As far as our return to the office goes, employees are asked to come in on a cadence that best suits their role. For example, some roles, like workplace experience, are designed to be in the office. Some roles are more suited to remote work. There is no substitute for the connection, camaraderie, and collaboration that happens when teams work together in the same room. Thank you.
1.0
Nov 25, 2022
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

My favorite part? They laid me off - yes I mean that. I hated working here more than I ever imagined possible. Every night I would dread going to work here, and they did me a favor.

Cons

If you're reading this, you're likely looking to work here. Knowing the recruiters & middle management at OB, they will tell you the vast number of negative reviews are due to the November layoffs and are not indicative of the company as a whole. This is a lie. When I had looked to join OB, I brushed off a few Glassdoor reviews addressing their handling of Covid as well as their management & culture. If I could go back and trust my gut that this company had major reflags, I 100% would. If you're reading these reviews - yes, people are overwhelmingly mad about layoffs. However I implore you look at what else the reviews say, you will notice themes in what they address. In the future, OB will say they have changed for the better and addressed issues in the past. It will likely not be true.

2.0
Nov 17, 2022
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

2 stars because there still are some good and talented people at the company and the product is good.

Cons

Where to begin… the company touts “better together” but actually does not care about its employees. Mandatory 3-5 days in office being enforced by some executives who are remote themselves. Recent layoffs - while this is happening around the industry, the company kept many under-performing sales leaders but released many hard-working and undeserving employees across other departments. It is a clear game of favoritism and they will not succeed if this continues. The people still at the company are happy to have jobs but they don’t actually want to work there. Benefits, holiday schedule (but they tout unlimited PTO), and paternity are light and below average.

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Own Company Response
3y
Thank you for your feedback. Our desire to have employees back in the office is a decision that was made as there is simply no replacement for in person connection. Some roles are naturally suited for remote work, whereas some roles must be in the office to be effective. A majority of roles are flexible, with employees deciding which days are best to work from home, and which are best spent in the office. While we’ve grown significantly year over year, the world has changed much more dramatically and as a result we have had to make a strategic organizational realignment, impacting employees worldwide. Large internal events are an investment in our employees and are typically planned over a year in advance. While this decision was extremely challenging and has affected all geographies and departments today, we remain extremely positive about our future. If you have any other questions or concerns, please reach out to your HRBP. Thank you.
Viewing 22 - 24 of 360 Reviews

Glassdoor has 395 Own Company reviews submitted anonymously by Own Company employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Own Company is right for you.