*Pros: The company seems to grow significantly last year and the valuation is still low compared to other top startups. They seem to do well this year as well and haven’t raised another round since 2019. And if the company can execute right they can really disrupt (https://digital.hbs.edu/platform-digit/submission/flexport-disrupting-international-freight-shipment/) *Cons: So many mixed reviews both on Blind and Glassdoor so the concerns are consistent. Overall they seem to point at - uncertain business model with low margin. - from engineer perspective, it’s operation heavy and less engineer focus. - immature management. *Reason I’m asking: I’m interested in the problem they are working on and upside; however the comps seems to be low (offers on Blind show they are not competitive enough comparing to top startups even at same valuation) , mixed reviews and talents seem not very top notch (i think mostly because of comps?). I think the problem is hard to solve and without good talents, the company won’t be able to execute. Even Amazon with bad reputation, they once has very top talent and some now with competitive pay for engineer (Flexport doesn’t seem to bet on this) *Ask for your opinion: Would like to know from Flexport employees. Please comment and vote - if those concerns are being acknowledged and worked on. - Are you optimistic about the company - is it worth to jump from good faang to flexport? For engineers outside Flexport vote and comment your opinion and research. YOE: 5.5 (3 at fb so almost cliff) TC: 380k (with stock appreciation. Internal promo sucks)
Also, the talent part doesn't seem to reflect the truth. Recently we have had a flurry of employees joining from Google, Fb, Microsoft, Amazon, Lyft Uber and other Unicorns interviewing and joining Flexport. Apart from the recent hiring spree, Flexport has a lot of homegrown engineers who joined Flexport right outta college and are here going all the way back to 2015-16. Lastly I have been noticing a lot of Fanng employees seem to fail Flexport interviews since they are not leetcode based. We are able to hire a lot more candidates who excel at their day to day job and and large scale systems, which is coming from a lot of varied backgrounds.
Thanks for your insight. I agree the talents are still good, I would say around 3.5/5. Top startups like airtable, stripe, plaid, chime.. are 4.0 or above, in excellent tier. Flexport sounded that it used to be in excellent tier and many left. Regarding interview, it’s just interview. I honestly don’t classify companies based on interview. I could make super hard interview and practical from my view that barely anyone can pass
Yeah the fate of interviews is pretty flaky when it comes to different companies. Atleast at Flexport we think that we shouldn't be judging candidates based on how much leetcode they have done and more on their past experiences and work. A lot of companies are heading that direction with Stripe, Netflix, Square to name a few. So I won't say Flexport interviews are hard, they are just not leetcode. Also about top offers, I think Flexport gives out pretty good offers if the candidate truly evaluates the company. For example most flexport senior offers are 300k+ while others give 400k+. But all offers are given at a 2019 valuation still since the company hasn't raised a new round and they don't count every stocks value based on market. If we look at Flexport's offers based on how they are selling in private markets, these offers are easily above 400k, but obviously the grain of salt here seems too huge to ignore. And that's why Flexport doesn't have very fluctuating offers across the band and does not give out signing bonuses. Its a company philosophy that anyone who joins should join if they truly believe in the company and the problem space and scope of it. Singing bonuses can sometimes motivate candidates for the wrong reaons, like higher Tc, which obviously makes sense in this market but Flexport has taken this stance and works for them.
It’s pretty nice. Engineers are solid. Have been here two years and have seen the RSU value almost triple. We’re solving tough and interesting problems. There’s a lot of opportunity to do impactful work.
Triple? From price to what price? I see on equity zen to be adjusted to 7$
Check out the price on Forge Global(SharesPost). Equityzen doesn't update the prices if there hasn't been a real sale of that stock on that Platform. Given where we are, no one's selling their equity, to put it lightly.
Joined for a few months and I’d say experience is kinda mixed. On business side company is crushing it, I would be surprised if we only got a 2x ipo. However there’re definitely problems within eng, problems are recognized but I’m uncertain about the fixes.
Thank you so much for the insight! What kind of problems you are seeing? Management, wlb, career advancement, morale or not a tech heavy company?
I mainly have issue with the infra we have and poor data quality. People have been complaining about attrition due to some bad management and reorg. Wlb is great, even a bit sloppy for my liking for a startup. With those said, I still feel positive about most of the company.
I can answer this from business perspective. The traditional competitors work on 1-5 percent EBITDA margin. Gross margins are high around 15-30 percent on core products. The trick of game is if you can digitize and scale enough to covert the gross margin to high EBITDA margin. If Flexport will hit 2 bn in revenues they are definitely scaling. The open question is then on product; if it can be digitized this is big
Their revenue will reach 2.6B this year (from the recruiter), it means it's 5b valuation is really low. 7-10b looks a reasonable valuation.
Are you joining or have been at the company?
Fyi, this is gross revenue, not net revenue.