What is the culture like? Is there a strong product team? Is it product led? How is the product different from Zillow? Doing some research for a potential role. Blind tax - TC: 320K (depending 😅)/ YOE: 7 (3.5 in product) #Orchard #startups
I received an offer from orchard to be one of their sales agents. Culture wise, very positive from the people I spoke with. They even offered to connect me with peers in my role to hear how they enjoy the company. However, I already got the mood just from the managers I met and the fluidity of the interview. Comparable to Zillow in culture? Yes. The old Zillow. Orchard is offering a service similar to most prop techs like Flyhomes, knock, etc. Zillow is likely moving in this direction since shutting down their cash offers. The risk is much lower in comparison. Im not sure what their engineers are paid, but salary wise for sales was too low for me to accept. Even though OTE with bonuses was competitive, the thought of a low salary was unattractive for me.
Thank you for the thoughtful response! Could you share a little bit more about the type of service they offer and why it is lower risk? Is it because they don’t take on risk by outright ownership of the house?
It's a prop tech helping first time home buyers or helping current home owners buy a new home and then helping them to sell their old one afterwards. The idea is to eliminate having to do bridge loans or eliminate having to place a contingency offer to buy a new home. In comparison to ibuying, the company doesn't own the property and doesn't have to worry about repairs/resale.
Senior Orchard employee here. I’m pretty familiar with the ins and outs of the business (including what people make across the business.) I’m happy to share ranges based on what you’re looking for. Just DM me. The tldr is that the comp is terrible. I like the Product team. Good people, but good coworkers doesn’t pay the bills. Culture overall is ok. Probably more mature than most startups that I’ve been around or read about. The product team is a mix of veteran product employees and those new to the world of product mostly through lateral transfers. We are trying to become and end to end solution for buyers. My honest take is that our service is too complex and product has never been able to catch up. That may not be different than other companies, but it feels particularly bad here. Without getting into specifics, it’s taken years to get simple things for Sales. This is even after the fact that we tend to prioritize initiatives that enable the Sales team.
I can second this post. I am also a Senior Orchard employee. For new hires, they are not exposed to the types of issues that gWu4kp and I have had to deal with during our tenure. We are a sales-focused company so the Sales Org is treated better. Our company lacks the ability to “embrace the debate” and to openly engage our colleagues to “find a better way”.This causes a lot of friction across orgs. I am in middle management so I am constantly working with Department Heads to C-Suite (quick disclaimer: not every leader is bad but a very high percentage) on key initiatives. The egos are difficult to manage and at times you wonder if they are aligned with our core values and company goals. But just remember… every company has its problems. Be aware that Orchard is no different and that our rapid growth will only compound the issue. Couple that with new market launches and a slowdown in home sales is a recipe for disaster.
Following up on this thread - since it’s been a few months, do you feel anything has changed and what’s your outlook on the company long term
I have an orchard in my backyard lol
Happy for you friend. One time I saw a swan in my neighbors backyard. Does that count?