5 ms·

I just checked out glassdoor, and it seems like they don't know what their product should be since top execs don't want to agree on anything. > We have too man

by mjpuser 10y ago

I just checked out glassdoor, and it seems like they don't know what their product should be since top execs don't want to agree on anything. > We have too many executives for a company this size - most don't add much value except for fighting with each other and politicizing issues. The CEO lives in HongKong and remotely manages this crew of distrusting, non-supportive and close-minded execs. The HR function is practically a joke. You don't ask questions, challenge their decisions or speak up - they'll threaten to fire you if you did. They have not been able to productize their technology, their trading business has not picked up and their sales pipeline is pretty dry for the other businesses. They have laid off a large number of people recently and financial trouble seems to be brewing - lot of marketing smoke in here! > Focus on one product and give it more time. > Productize, productize, productize.

easytiger 10y ago
Sounds to me like a shopfront to build up an emotionally weighted patent Portfolio to then beat others around the head with. Hope it fails
65827 10y ago
I mean sure, but take glassdoor with a huge grain of salt, people make up crap to post on there all the time.
- drpgq 10y ago
  The company I work for is around 100 people, but the few postings I have seen that are negative and descriptive are on the mark. Maybe Tolstoy was right about unhappy companies as well.
  - simonebrunozzi 10y ago
    Curious to what your are referring to, related to Tolstoy (or Tolstoj as I like to write his name). Can you elaborate? Thanks!
    - maverick_iceman 10y ago
      “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”
    - fancy_pantser 10y ago
      It's called The Anna Karenina principle. Tolstoy posited an analogy in his novel Anna Karenina that "happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." Interestingly, Peter Thiel starts his book Zero To One with a reference to the Anna Karenina principle by showing a corollary in business: "All happy companies are different, all unhappy companies are alike."
    - mavelikara 10y ago
      Not OP, but this might be the reference: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Karenina_principle https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Karenina_principle
- mifeng 10y ago
  After a certain number of reviews, Glassdoor becomes a more honest reflection of a company's actual state than anything else. It's certainly more truthful that marketing fluff pieces like this.
  - 65827 10y ago
    Absolutely. It's a great resource, I have used it regularly since it launched. People still make up fiction and post it on there all. the. time. Keep that in mind.
    - Balgair 10y ago
      Its like a Cohen Brothers Film: Lots of stuff happens that is really entertaining, but at the end of the movie you have learned nothing.
  - fokov 10y ago
    I agree as well. I've noticed many problems in my current organization but it is really telling when people are complaining about the same things I'm seeing. The problems really exist, people have fought to fix them and failed, management either doesn't care or want to fix them. Yes there will always be people that were fired writing things up as well as others just lying (competitors). Like you said, at some point when there is enough smoke you should expect a fire.
- kybernetikos 10y ago
  I've also worked places that were pretty effective at getting glassdoor to take down the negative reviews. They could always find some sort of explanation for how the negative ones didn't meet the terms and conditions and glassdoor seemed relatively ok with taking them down.
reverend_gonzo 10y ago
Which is really odd, since if they had any idea of what they were doing, they wouldn't need to sell. Trading is among one of the few industries out there where you don't need to have anything like a customer. What you do is make money, and if you're making money, well, you don't need to ask anybody else for money. This tells me that its a bunch of executives who either don't know anything about trading and/or don't have any coherent strategy, and are really just trying to throw enough buzzwords out there to get investor capitol.
- edblarney 10y ago
  "Trading is among one of the few industries out there where you don't need to have anything like a customer." Yes, but knowing how to trade is obviously very important, it's not just picking stocks, it's risk management, regulatory issues, and tons of industry specific knowledge. That said - if they have 'tech that works' they should be able to partner with a few financial people and wrap a fund around it without too much trouble. That so much negativity is on Glassdoor is really a bad sign.
- lpage 10y ago
  Peter Muller has the most succinct summary of this that I've seen in his (very worthwhile) opinion piece on proprietary trading [1]: Sharpe Ratio, Marketing department ≤ 0: Runs the firm 0.25: Very important; involved in all investment decisions; major focus on asset gathering 0.5–1.0: Secondary 1.0–2.0: Almost superfluous ≥ 2.0: What marketing department? [1] https://faculty.fuqua.duke.edu/~charvey/Teaching/BA453_2004/Muller_Proprietary_trading.pdf https://faculty.fuqua.duke.edu/~charvey/Teaching/BA453_2004/...
  - mojoe 10y ago
    For others: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharpe_ratio https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharpe_ratio
- bogomipz 10y ago
  >" Trading is among one of the few industries out there where you don't need to have anything like a customer." Trading yes but a hedge fund or any fund really implies customers no?

by mjpuser 10y ago

easytiger 10y ago

Sounds to me like a shopfront to build up an emotionally weighted patent Portfolio to then beat others around the head with. Hope it fails

65827 10y ago

I mean sure, but take glassdoor with a huge grain of salt, people make up crap to post on there all the time.

drpgq 10y ago
The company I work for is around 100 people, but the few postings I have seen that are negative and descriptive are on the mark. Maybe Tolstoy was right about unhappy companies as well.
- simonebrunozzi 10y ago
  Curious to what your are referring to, related to Tolstoy (or Tolstoj as I like to write his name). Can you elaborate? Thanks!
  - maverick_iceman 10y ago
    “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”
  - fancy_pantser 10y ago
    It's called The Anna Karenina principle. Tolstoy posited an analogy in his novel Anna Karenina that "happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." Interestingly, Peter Thiel starts his book Zero To One with a reference to the Anna Karenina principle by showing a corollary in business: "All happy companies are different, all unhappy companies are alike."
  - mavelikara 10y ago
    Not OP, but this might be the reference: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Karenina_principle https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Karenina_principle
mifeng 10y ago
After a certain number of reviews, Glassdoor becomes a more honest reflection of a company's actual state than anything else. It's certainly more truthful that marketing fluff pieces like this.
- 65827 10y ago
  Absolutely. It's a great resource, I have used it regularly since it launched. People still make up fiction and post it on there all. the. time. Keep that in mind.
  - Balgair 10y ago
    Its like a Cohen Brothers Film: Lots of stuff happens that is really entertaining, but at the end of the movie you have learned nothing.
- fokov 10y ago
  I agree as well. I've noticed many problems in my current organization but it is really telling when people are complaining about the same things I'm seeing. The problems really exist, people have fought to fix them and failed, management either doesn't care or want to fix them. Yes there will always be people that were fired writing things up as well as others just lying (competitors). Like you said, at some point when there is enough smoke you should expect a fire.
kybernetikos 10y ago
I've also worked places that were pretty effective at getting glassdoor to take down the negative reviews. They could always find some sort of explanation for how the negative ones didn't meet the terms and conditions and glassdoor seemed relatively ok with taking them down.

reverend_gonzo 10y ago

Which is really odd, since if they had any idea of what they were doing, they wouldn't need to sell. Trading is among one of the few industries out there where you don't need to have anything like a customer. What you do is make money, and if you're making money, well, you don't need to ask anybody else for money. This tells me that its a bunch of executives who either don't know anything about trading and/or don't have any coherent strategy, and are really just trying to throw enough buzzwords out there to get investor capitol.

edblarney 10y ago
"Trading is among one of the few industries out there where you don't need to have anything like a customer." Yes, but knowing how to trade is obviously very important, it's not just picking stocks, it's risk management, regulatory issues, and tons of industry specific knowledge. That said - if they have 'tech that works' they should be able to partner with a few financial people and wrap a fund around it without too much trouble. That so much negativity is on Glassdoor is really a bad sign.
lpage 10y ago
Peter Muller has the most succinct summary of this that I've seen in his (very worthwhile) opinion piece on proprietary trading [1]: Sharpe Ratio, Marketing department ≤ 0: Runs the firm 0.25: Very important; involved in all investment decisions; major focus on asset gathering 0.5–1.0: Secondary 1.0–2.0: Almost superfluous ≥ 2.0: What marketing department? [1] https://faculty.fuqua.duke.edu/~charvey/Teaching/BA453_2004/Muller_Proprietary_trading.pdf https://faculty.fuqua.duke.edu/~charvey/Teaching/BA453_2004/...
- mojoe 10y ago
  For others: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharpe_ratio https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharpe_ratio
bogomipz 10y ago
>" Trading is among one of the few industries out there where you don't need to have anything like a customer." Trading yes but a hedge fund or any fund really implies customers no?