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Thank you for the frank feedback and highlighting that Eventerprise is a great place for students to get real world experience. However, we do feel that some of your comments deserve better context.
As you know, Eventerprise is an early-stage startup, which means the value proposition for employees lies in gaining experience and honing their skills in an innovative international environment, as well as reaping future rewards as the company grows and scales, rather than the instant gratification of market-related salaries.
The whole management team, including the CEO, are working at substantial discounts to their market value, because they all believe in the huge potential of the Eventerprise platform and have great faith in the team driving it. This is by the way a standard scenario for early-stage digital companies like ourselves.
All the above were made clear to you on multiple occasions during your own recruitment process and you seemed to concur with our approach. Why else would you join the team?
Your reference to unpaid internships as a 'con' is a bit disingenuous since we are not allowed in terms of South African law to pay interns from foreign countries, who, as you should know, form the majority of our interns, most of the time.
Why not also mention that students from top universities across the world, including many South African students, participate in our internship programme despite being told upfront that it is unpaid, because it offers exposure to digital and entrepreneurial skills not easily found elsewhere?
The alternative is that we charge between $3,000 and $5,000 per person, depending on area of participation and duration, for what amounts to a high-level skills boot camp that can and has kicked-started quite a few successful careers. As a global platform that is part of the sharing economy we prefer to avoid that option in favour of a clear quid pro quo that delivers real value.
We are also very proud of the significant contributions that talented interns from across the world have made to our business. Participating as full team members on go-to-market projects is a key value proposition for Eventerprise interns. Here's just one example of how valuable the experience was for a Cornell University postgraduate: https://www.eventerprise.com/blog/high-praise-cornell-postgraduate-eventerprise-internship/
Please note that Eventerprise uses the Hubstaff time-tracking software as a 'clock-in and -out' tool due the different starting and finishing hours of interns, and not as a performance management tool. It's a bit worrying that you were not aware of this as a team member involved with recruitment. However, we do take note of your comment and will make extra sure all current and future interns understand its use.
You mention that critical recruitment systems were left in the hands of interns. Since we employed you to manage those systems it could be asked why you were not taking ownership of your field of responsibility. It seems a bit unfair to blame interns for your own failure.
Lastly, we're sorry that the office music bothered you. We've asked Khaya to skip the heavier urban tunes for some laid-back Country & Western :-)
Jokes aside, Eventerprise and the realm of international SaaS startups is not for everyone. It takes IQ as well as EQ, and lots of grit, to succeed in this demanding, but ultimately very rewarding environment. That said, we do wish you well with your career and hope that you find a position where you can develop to your full potential.
