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Thank you for sharing your thoughts. At Format, we thrive on feedback--both the good and bad. It’s how we focus on continual improvement. However, two things that we don’t condone here are the false remarks and disparaging comments made about our team members. I will assume that you are coming from a place of positive intent when you posted this review, which is why I want to take the time to speak to some of the items you mentioned.
Our team is the best in the business: talented, driven, caring, smart and collaborative. It is the through the determination and hard work of our dedicated team that we have become the successful, self funded, 50 person company that we are today. When someone visits our office or uses our products they see and feel the hard work, care and dedication the Format team members have for what we do and the creative community that we serve.
Thank you for labeling our management team as “siblings”, I will take that as a compliment. I agree that we are candid with each other which is relatable to how siblings act. As managers we are big fans of Radical Candor (see book by Kim Scott) which we find to be the most effective leadership style. I would go as far as saying that we have succeeded as a managerial team through our ability to discuss and resolve issues quickly.
We work extremely hard to retain our top talent and make sure that our team members are happy and set up for success. As you know, we ensure this by providing feedback regularly through 1:1s, formal reviews, and yes, regular conversations on Slack. We have achieved some remarkable accomplishments and wouldn’t be this successful without our people. That is why we treat our team well and provide promotions when deserved.
We understand that some of your feedback is coming from a place of anger and the changes that we experienced on the marketing team this past year. It was just as difficult for us as it was for you. We are a bootstrapped company and we had to make some tough decisions to succeed, including reorganizing the marketing team. We are very excited about the direction that the team is now headed in. We’ve made great strides and are continuing to put our people first, something that we will always do.
I have decided not to address many of your comments that I believe are completely fabricated. If you wish to talk about these personally with me, you can always reach out. I do, however, wish you all the best on your next creative endeavor.
- Lukas / CEO of Format