Very disorganized, didn’t learn anything, and this company has no idea where it’s going - Operations Formation Bio Employee Review

2.0
17 Aug 2020
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Company has really good perks (or it used to). Before COVID, they offered free lunch via seamless everyday and dinner after 7, a company retreat, and an office with snacks and coffee. For the most part they compensate their employees really well - there are a few teams that deserve a lot more money considering they carry the entire company.

Cons

TrialSpark is extremely disorganized. They received way too much funding way too fast, and just starting throwing money at hiring way too many new people they didn’t need and getting an awesome new office and supplying their employees with nice perks. They pivot their goals every quarter, and employees in management and leadership positions leave every three months, leaving little room for employees in lower level positions to grow. I had 3 different managers in less than 1 year. I sadly didn’t really get to learn much while working here, which is why I took the job in the first place. They also don’t really have a product. They sell themselves to biotech and big Pharma as a tech company, but their “tech” is glorified data entry. Then they sell themselves to tech as an operational organization, and hire unqualified operational talent, give them no instructions, and recently laid off most of the operational staff. Just to give you an example of how little this company actually knows about it’s impact, they don’t even use a CRM, despite multiple team members begging for one to, you know, do their jobs efficiently! The qualified operational/clinical talent they do hire they underpay, overwork, and treat badly. Speaking of layoffs, TrialSpark recently laid off or furloughed 30% of their staff so I wouldn’t recommend applying there right now. They don’t know what they are doing. This company is also not diverse and incredibly sexist. Just take a look at their leadership team, and then take a look at people in upper level management. Lots of men, and lots of white people, and lots of straight people (and lots of overlap). Truly, no diversity of thought.

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Formation Bio Response
5y
Thanks for taking the time to share about your experience. We’re always looking to understand how we can make TrialSpark a better place to work, so we appreciate that you've shared areas where we can make improvements. As an early stage company, we are often adapting and iterating to execute on our mission. Sometimes this results in a shift in priorities and focus, and we are working to improve communication when things change. In addition, we believe in the importance of having a diverse team at all levels of the company. We’ve been investing to make that happen — and are already seeing a change. We’ve rolled out an extensive Diversity, Equity & Inclusion roadmap and in just the past few months, we’ve moved from women making up just 13% of our leadership team to women now making up 38% of the team. We have put in place goals to make sure the people we are interviewing for each role are representative of the diverse cities in which we operate and the patients we work with. Adapting to change is challenging, but we are focused on pushing ourselves to be better. Thank you again for your direct feedback. Your input will continue to help us build a stronger culture and take further steps to achieve our mission of bringing new treatments to patients faster and more efficiently. Melissa Enbar, Chief People Officer

Explore other reviews about Formation Bio

5.0
18 May 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Formation Bio has been one of the more intellectually engaging places I’ve worked. The company moves quickly, and there’s a strong focus on solving hard problems in a practical way rather than just following how things have traditionally been done in biotech. The people are a big reason I’ve enjoyed working here. Teams are generally collaborative, thoughtful, and open to new ideas. You get a lot of ownership and visibility early, which can be challenging at times but also creates real opportunities for growth and learning.

Cons

Like any fast-growing company, priorities can shift and there’s some ambiguity that comes with moving quickly. It’s probably not the right environment for someone looking for a very structured or slow-paced organization. But if you enjoy building, learning, and having impact immediately, it’s a rewarding place to be.

5.0
15 May 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The ambition is real. Formation acquires clinical-stage drug assets and uses technology to develop them better. Which means the work touches actual medicines for actual waiting patients with an emphasis on innovation. The technology stack built internally is more ambitious than what I've seen at companies five times our size, and the company enthusiastically embraces new approaches and ships real workflows with it. Smart, low-ego colleagues genuinely want each other to win. Leadership is unusually willing to bet on novel structures and rewrite the org when the work demands it.

Cons

You will feel the pace. Formation is trying to do something that hasn't been done before in biopharma, which means ambiguity and change is persistent - playbooks get written as we go, and that's not for everyone. If you need a fully-formed process to operate inside, this isn't the place yet.

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