World-class technology, toxic leadership - Anonymous employee Swoop Aero Employee Review

2.0
3 Jul 2023
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The company has developed world-class drone logistics technology almost entirely in-house - the full software stack enabling manufacturing, inventory management, configuration management, fleet management and aircraft operations and on the hardware side the design of the most capable logistics drone in its class and the production system to build it. The doers - the people on the ground who make things happen (majority of the company) are highly talented, passionate about the vision and will work extremely hard to achieve it.

Cons

The culture of senior leadership is that of an exclusive club above all others. There is little transparency with the rest of the company on most matters and almost a complete lack of consultation with SMEs on critical business decisions and committments. Hence, the company finds itself in a constant state of having sold technology with deadlines set on the basis of utter dillusion. The doers are then faced the same dilemna everyday - to deliver late or cut corners, disrupt existing work streams and jeopordise the safety of the product. Weekend work is common and strongly pressured at times with false promises of bonuses. Things like sushi lunches or coffees will be sporadically purchased for staff as appreciation. But appreciation may be better shown by respecting and listening to staff. Senior tech leaders in particular have shown to be almost completely devoid of empathy. The constant pressure results in ever-accumulating tech debt requiring staff to constantly put out fires rather than focus on moving the product forward. Budgetry allocation is also highly questionable with large sums spent on things like muruals but purse strings tightened when it comes to essential aircraft components. While hiring talented industry experts through its growth phase, the company has not correctly leveraged that expertise and has struggled to mature, resulting in many of those employees quickly leaving.

Explore other reviews about Swoop Aero

2.0
3 Nov 2024
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The company had a great purpose and a magnitude of potential. Just a pity the ego and lies of the CEO led Swoop to where it is today. Lies and BS can get you a long way but after a while people start to see it and reality kicks in and puts you in your place. - Great product - Talented ground crew

Cons

- Terrible CEO - Weak leadership team - Little truth / transparency from the top With out writing a Novel (which you could do with the way Eric Peak ran Swoop Aero) Swoop had a great purpose and a major stake hold in the EVTOL industry but it seems they overspent / or spent to fast maybe? and did not have a logical plan in place to make sure consistent revenue and returns were achievable. There are many things that Swoop did well but also could have done better. I truly believe it starts with a leader that knows how to rally a team in a positive way and to foster good productive work ethnic. That was not evident with the way Swoop Aero was run in the last two years.

2.0
24 Mar 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Absolutely fantastic people to work with. I always learned new skills, and for the most part, the work felt rewarding.

Cons

Poor upper management. The lack of direction impacted the entire company's morale, making it harder to work there every day.

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