Many pros, but abusive CTO - Anonymous employee BetterUp Employee Review

2.0
1 Apr 2022
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Most colleagues are great CEO is inspiring Overall strategy makes sense People work hard for things to go well

Cons

Ryan Sonnek, CTO and current head of R&D, is psychologically abusive. He’s not straight-forward with what he wants and then blows up at people when they can’t understand his cryptic communication. He never apologizes, and appears cheerful. It’s like gas-lighting. It’s affecting a lot of people’s mental health across several teams and creating bottlenecks.

avatar
BetterUp Response
4y
We're sorry to hear this is the experience you are having on our R&D team. Please know that we take this type of feedback seriously, and our leaders do as well. We always want to create an environment where everyone on the team has the psychological safety and support to thrive personally and professionally at BetterUp. Ideally we'd love to better understand the details of your experience so we can work together to resolve your concerns. If you’re comfortable with it, we can help you prepare for a direct conversation about your concerns with your manager or directly with Ryan. If you are willing to come speak with our People team, our (virtual) door is wide open and we're here to listen and work with you to improve your experience. Given you seem to have other positive experiences at BU, we hope you are willing to take us up on the offer to work together towards a resolution. It’s very important to us that we make BetterUp stronger, and that we do this in partnership with our employees. Either way, we appreciate your feedback in the spirit of making our organization better. - BetterUp HR

Explore other reviews about BetterUp

5.0
10 Jun 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

I'm not held here against my will for a cause... I'm paid to do something I actually care about. I see a lot of people on Glassdoor debating the strength of the business model, but I've never seen anyone argue that what BetterUp is trying to do isn't worth doing. I'm a part of a company thats net positive for the world. That alone feels like a feat in 2026. AND I'm getting paid well. No "mission discount".

Cons

This isn't a money-growing-on-trees unicorn startup from 2018. This business model is hard. We're selling human potential development when most companies are trying to figure out how to replace humans with AI. Its not easy but I think its kind of important... A lot of people experience being overwhelmed here. Thats real. It happens enough that clearly the culture is playing a role. Every company has its own version of crazy. My advice to people thinking about working here: ask direct questions in your interviews to figure out if you're okay with Betterup's kind of crazy. You'll get honest answers. After 3+ years I've genuinely grown to love it

2
5.0
10 Jun 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Nearly 8 years in, and the work still pulls me forward. What keeps me at BetterUp is that the problems are genuinely hard and genuinely worth solving. I came from engineering, so I'm wired to care about infrastructure, not just features, and this is one of the rare places where you can build something foundational and actually see it move metrics, clear escalations, and unblock a whole go-to-market motion. The mission isn't decorative here. I can feel the thread between the work and the outcome. BetterUp also trusts you to figure things out across lanes. I've written SQL, prototyped with AI tools, facilitated workshops, and co-designed vendor strategy, all as a PM, because the culture doesn't penalize curiosity or reaching into adjacent territory. And honestly, some of my closest friendships came out of this place. The people I work with, on engineering, on cross-functional teams, and in peer mentorship, are people I genuinely learn from and, in some cases, people I can't imagine not having in my life. That combination of meaningful infrastructure work, real trust, and people who challenge you and become your people is not easy to find. The benefits span beyond general work-life-balance, if you're curious about something, there's always an open door to learn and contribute. As a woman in tech, I cherish the fact that our colleagues listen to women, and our insight is taken into account instead of just ignored. It's nice to feel safe at work, able to speak your mind freely.

Cons

If you want a boring job, this is not the place for you.

See reviews by: Helpful|Rating|Date|All