Pros
Duco is the best run startup I have ever worked with. Everyone on the team is held to a high standard of performance and everyone is trusted with the freedom, and resources required to get it done. I want to break down a few aspects of the company that really stand out. Industry: When I was at Duco, their expert network was focused on geopolitical and international consulting. Not only is this field interesting and timely, but it is growing rapidly. Every week seemed to open the door to a new exciting project or another expert being on-boarded who I have read about in the news. While the company did follow international events very closely, the culture was never political nor partisan. Technology: Duco was highly focused on product and the user experience and it is the reason they are going to win. Leadership is comfortable running lots of experiments on user experiences with an eye on rapid iteration and testing before investing in major build-outs. The company had a fast-paced development environment where the numbers always dove the final decisions. If you are looking for a place to dig in deep with cutting-edge tech, find a bigger company to go work for. If you want to rapidly iterate on customer experience and have a big impact across the entire product, this is a great opportunity. Team: This is the most organized and talented startup I have ever worked for. The company had and stuck with regular check-ins, performance reviews, calendaring, regular vision presentation from the CEO, and a whole list of other things that companies don't typically have until they are much bigger. This high level of professionalism and performance has trickled down from the top and is visible from the executive team to the intern classes. After all this praise I should mention why I left: Geography. If it were possible for me to be in San Francisco I would still be working with Duco. If you have the opportunity to work with this team, DO IT. You'll thank me later.
Cons
I can't move to San Francisco.