Opiniones sobre SyndicateRoom

Ventajas

Smart, ambitious, young-ish team who generally enjoy working with each other on a clear vision. The office is a combination of fun and focused and is located in an incredible building just a minutes walk from the river and 5 mins walk from the Cambridge market.

Desventajas

There was a period of time where the vision became less clear, the team less focused, and the positive culture waned slightly. This has all been corrected since the change in leadership and the shift in focus towards the fund. The only remaining item that could be considered a negative is that it is a smallish company and the opportunities to progress, in terms of "title" are limited. What is not limited though is... the opportunity to learn, developing skills within your role (and often times within the wider Venture Capital space), and improve your communication skills with partners, investee companies, investors, and others in the industry.

Consejos para la Dirección

Continue on the path you've set out on since the restructuring. Maintain the transparency you've set and continue to support the team as you have.

Ventajas

There's much to praise at SyndicateRoom. The rank and file team are supportive, bright people, the business is differentiated and doing something exciting, individuals can make a real different to the company's performance.

Desventajas

The CEO is a somewhat difficult person. He's clearly worked hard at his people skills, and recognises some of his own shortcomings, but there's no avoiding the fact that he lacks the empathy for people that would underpin a truly excellent CEO. Set against that, he enjoys remarkable loyalty from some in his team, so not everyone feels the issues that I felt, and he's leading the market-facing parts of the business... very well. He's a talented guy, just behind the game with his people skills. Another 'con' is that the company operates in an emerging field - equity crowdfunding - that is experiencing reputational damage as poor companies are funded by relatively unsophisticated investors. That said, this is a more valid criticism of the company's competitors and SyndicateRoom works hard to offer a higher standard of fund raising company to its investor members. Finally, SyndicateRoom underpays most of its staff by any external measure, particularly with its requirement to work relatively long hours. Clearly many on the team are prepared to take this deal because they're compensated by the excitement and dynamism of working at a startup, but it's not for everyone.

Consejos para la Dirección

Ensure that the business' cofounder takes a bigger role in the pastoral side of the business: taking care of and nurturing the team.

Ventajas

- Really lovely people to work with, all very intelligent and great fun too. Couldn't have asked for better colleagues! It truly is one of those jobs where I actually enjoy coming into work in the morning and look forward to the day ahead. - Amazing office building and location (which does make a massive difference). Nice open plan which encourages collaboration as much as possible and creates an atmosphere of... everyone working together as a big team. - Good opportunities to develop skills in areas you are interested in. People are open to new suggestions even if you are not technically part of their team, and senior management frequently encourage employees to take on extra projects of interest to them. There is a lot of flexibility. - A few reviews on here have criticised the CEO. Although I haven't had much experience working with him personally, I do find he has good intentions and is clearly actively trying to improve the way in which he manages his staff. There are real efforts going on which are nice to see. Myself, I have no issues with him at all. - Friendly, informal working environment. Unlike city jobs, which require suits to be worn etc., it is much more casual here which makes sense as, unless you're meeting a client, why not dress comfortably?! - Weekly team meetings keep everyone in the loop and definitely helps everyone get an idea of the vision for the future of the company, which in my opinion is key and something that larger firms perhaps fail at doing.

Desventajas

- My role as an associate is slightly more admin-y than I was expecting. This means I'm doing a fair amount of repetitive work which feels like it could, ultimately, be automated. Working for a startup, I am not surprised that not everything has been automated yet as processes are still changing but I can see work going on constantly to automate tasks that can be. - A number of staff members have laptops which are... simply not suitable for the job. It is quite frustrating spending half an hour doing something manually when you know someone else can do it at the click of a button, yet at the same time it's uncomfortable to constantly ask others to do your work. More consistency across the quality of laptops would be fairer and definitely ease dissatisfaction. - Probably the biggest con for me are working hours. As an associate, I would say I easily get all of my work for the day done by 5pm, if not 4pm. I understand there is potentially some flexibility for people to go home if they don't have anything to do, but it is certainly a case of asking which can feel quite awkward at times. One extra hour doesn't sound like much, but I think it would make a massive difference to people's day having that extra time in the evening. - Processes are constantly changing which is a good thing overall as it means they are being improved, but it also generates extra work for people. This is particularly true when a change has to be made retrospectively as it confuses things endlessly.

Consejos para la Dirección

Realistically, it is unnecessary for working hours to be until 6pm. I appreciate this is still a shorter working day than what one would find in the City, but the salary does not make up for the extra hour and it is very discouraging feeling like you have to sit around for an hour just to 'show your face' when there is nothing of importance to be getting on with. People would obviously stay until 6pm if they had... work to do, but otherwise it is a pointless extension to the 'average' working day (9-5).

Ventajas

-People and management genuinely care about your well being -Amazing colleagues, the office culture is quite casual, you can pretty much dress as you’d like -The role is dynamic, and you have lots of autonomy -Most people leave the office at around 18:00 -You are given plenty of opportunities in the company -Additional qualifications are supported and paid for (time off given per qualification) -Lots of... social activities, drinks on Fridays, birthdays are always celebrated -There have been many changes in the last year with the effort to address previous issues and SyndicateRoom has become a notably better place to work.

Desventajas

-Sometimes you do feel overworked, it is a young company and at times you are expected to cover multiple roles. Though I would say workload doesn’t come close to similar roles elsewhere. -The remuneration could be better, this is likely the reason people leave after a few years -Some teams seem to lack the organisation which leads to internal tensions -There isn’t always clarity on the process, or who the best... person to go to with something is

Consejos para la Dirección

Continue to make improvements in light of people's feedback. Show your employees they are appreciated, the ability to work from home once a week, more holiday days, among other potential perks would be appreciated given more remuneration seems to be off the table.

Ventajas

It sounds like the company had a rocky start in management that is still talked about, but there's been no evidence of these issues to me, so it's clear that the CEO has worked hard to turn things around. The staff feels like a 50/50 male female split and is generally quite young, with people in their 20s-30s and is an extremely friendly bunch. Being a small team (about 20ish people on two floors), everyone knows... each other. The office location is right in the centre of Cambridge, about a 5 minute walk from the market square. There's a 'Fun Fund', where money is set aside every month to do some cool things. This has included ice skating, bowling, bouldering and meals out. Money is deducted from this fund when glasses and mugs are left overnight, which seems like a (usually) fair way of encouraging tidiness. Cakes are bought in for birthdays and pizzas are bought in on some Fridays. Fruit and biscuits are provided, and a very nice coffee machine. Internal communication happens over Slack rather than email, which keeps communication very quick and slick, although in some cases people resort to Slack before talking to the person on the same table. Watch out if you get Slack on your phone, as work will chase you home. All in all though, it works extremely well. Management happily takes on board suggestions or questions, and everyone is listened to and allowed (or asked for) input into how aspects of the company is run. A lot of processes are still being created, which can sometimes be frustrating or simple tasks are still being done manually because the automation hasn't happened yet, but as long as you're proactive you can be part of the solution. You'll find your tasks expanding past your role, which is great for variety and learning new skills. You may find yourself modifying web pages, hosting a weekly live youtube show or getting pulled into a meeting to chat about where the company should go next. Working from Home varies on who you speak to, but my own experience of this seems very flexible. If you can give a reason at least a day before why you're requesting it, that's fine. There may be trust issues from the rocky history that I'm unaware of, but I've never had a problem. Support is given to encourage personal development. There's regular catch-ups with team leaders and 'OKR' (target) sessions that encourage personal projects alongside your regular work. As the workforce is quite young, management openly discuss that this won't likely be people's last job, and actively encourage people to develop skills that they can use later in their career. Some people have found they prefer other roles, and in these cases changeover has been encouraged. Depending on the role you're going for, you might not know much about the finance industry, but management are keen to educate or allow people to ask questions of other roles. Generally if you are or want to be proactive, working in a startup/scaleup/small company like this will be great for you.

Desventajas

Holiday is 20 days, but does expand to 25 days after 1 year. There's no extra time given around Christmas, but you're not forced to spend your holiday around Christmas either, so it's not all bad. Working hours are 9 - 6, so a little longer than other places. There's also no bookable lieu time, so any lieu is just unofficially taken around when the overtime occurred. As the team is still quite small, if... someone is on annual leave or on sick leave, there may not be anyone to cover their role, so processes are still being put in place or need to be encouraged. It also means that the amount of work can become overwhelming sometimes. It's great to work on additional projects, but when a team is too small to cover for the everyday/weekly tasks, it can prove difficult. As others have said, there's little room for progression while the team is small, but support is given to encourage personal development.

Ventajas

-Fun, friendly office with a management team open to suggestions and willing to listen. -I felt welcomed from the start and continue to feel excited to work here. -Hierarchy isn't felt in the same way as a larger organisational structure, and as such there is an ability to shape the boundaries of your role as you develop. - Opportunities are definitely available if you have the determination and willingness to... take on further responsibilities and are dedicated to improving the business. -HR processes are improving, and team events and activities are lots of fun. - In my experience, working from home has not been an issue, management are fair in response to requests and encourage staff to work in the office to foster a collaborative environment. I much prefer coming to the office, being part of the environment and interacting with the team. -The business is interesting and challenging, and management are willing to take on candidates who lack industry experience if they can see the potential for you to grow in the organisation and make important contributions to the running of the business. -Study leave is a helpful way to manage professional development, and management are encouraging of staff to find courses and boost their skills.

Desventajas

- Working hours are long, and this can be wearing. - Company is still young, and lacking the maturity of larger firms in terms of attitude and the ability to handle projects and deadlines as effectively as possible.

Consejos para la Dirección

-Consider recruiting candidates with more experience than graduate level, especially for roles which require specialist knowledge and skills. -The overall atmosphere is casual and friendly, but sometimes this strikes me as being too casual. It is important to strike a balance between more experienced staff and those fresh out of education, and foster a culture where team members spend time learning from each... other and the rest of the business.

Ventajas

- The team is fantastic, it's full of bright people who care about their work and making a difference in the market - There is plenty of opportunities to get stuck into various projects and you get plenty of autonomy in your work - There are a lot of team events for those who want to engage - The office is in a great location and a beautiful building

Desventajas

- The hours can be long - Processes change regularly

Ventajas

- It's a small, early-stage company, so there is potential to get involved in a range of things, get good experience, and take responsibility early on. - This also means that things are generally flexible and there is scope to shape processes and systems as the company grows or evolves. - You work with intelligent, nice, funny people; good team spirit, friendly & casual atmosphere, and opportunities for... socialising. - Work hours are long-ish, but not City levels: you wouldn't be expected to work longer than 9-6 unless there is a major emergency. - Unless you're meeting clients you can dress as casually as you like. - The culture fosters open, constructive debate. - Senior Management are actively trying to implement change to make the company a more attractive place to work.

Desventajas

- The CEO has got a lot of flak on here, some of which seems over the top and unnecessarily bitter. It is true that Goncalo struggles with people management, which not only has a negative effect on the company culture as a whole but has also led him to make some serious blunders. As result, people can at times feel unappreciated, mistrusted, frustrated, and that his management style is too controlling. To be fair to... him, however, he has taken feedback on board and is clearly trying to improve on this front. He is someone who can have a frank debate and take criticism. - The fact that the company is small, early-stage, and not yet profitable has upsides as well as downsides. Remuneration is low and there are few other employment benefits (don't expect health insurance, a good pension or a large number of holidays - 20 days initially when you start). The company has recently rolled out an options scheme for basically all employees, but this is in no way generous enough to compensate for the low pay (unless perhaps you were one of the lucky ones who joined really early on). If you join now, even if the company becomes successful (and that is a big if) in a number of years (and it will take a few years), you could probably make up gains in the value of your options by having a consistently higher salary elsewhere. - Again, because the company is small, there is little room for professional development as you can't rise through the ranks / take on more responsibility / get promoted to better jobs as you would in a larger organisation. Especially at Analyst or Associate level, the role has pretty much exhausted itself after 1-2 years. The company has recently introduced the ability to take 6 days p.a. in study leave, but this doesn't really give you enough time to complete a professional qualification, unless you want to spend your holidays, evenings, and weekends doing it as well. - Goncalo's controlling streak has fed into the company culture and is visible, for example, in its policy on working from home, which is pretty inflexible. Unless you have a good, specific reason to work from home for a specific, limited period of time, you are expected to turn up to the office every day even though basically all of this work can be done from home. - These downsides (which have been worse in the past and are improving), have led to quite a high churn of people, especially in the Associate role. Not a small number of people join, find that they don't like working here, and then leave. Staff retention is a problem. (And hence the negative reviews on here.) - None of this is to say that a job here wouldn't be suitable or rewarding for anybody. Think about what you can get out of it for your own career progression / professional development, and if there's a tangible benefit, then it's definitely possible to deal with the downsides. - There is a broader question mark over whether the company has the right business strategy and can actually succeed. One can debate whether or not the company is on the right course business/product wise. But you could probably say that about all startups. I've focused on what it's like to work here.

Consejos para la Dirección

- Invest in people and work on staff retention. Create a focused HR strategy. You have to remunerate people better and give them more benefits, monetary or otherwise - whether it's a bit more holiday, study leave, or the flexibility of working from home 1 or 2 days a week. To skimp on staff now in order to keep losses down is a false economy: the company is damaged more by having to repeatedly hire and train people..., who will take a long time to provide the same value as someone who has been there for 12-18 months. - Create vision. Think about how people can get behind the vision for SR, with the belief that this company can actually get somewhere. At the moment it can feel like people are only there because their job gives them some concrete personal benefit, and when that's no longer the case, they leave. Staff are there for mercenary reasons, not because they're loyal or believe in the vision (which, as things stand, is perfectly fair enough). But to make this company a success and take it to exit, you need happy, loyal staff that share the vision and can really share in its success.