I was approached for this role and left a stable, high-performing position to join the company. Unfortunately, the reality of the role did not match the expectations set during the recruitment process.
From day one, onboarding felt rushed and disorganised. The product is highly complex, and I found myself regularly working 12+ hour days simply trying to get up to speed, largely through watching call recordings with very limited support from management.
Management itself appeared inexperienced, and the culture often felt clique-driven. There seemed to be a small group of favoured individuals who received priority access to major inbound opportunities, even when those opportunities fell outside their assigned territories. Work-life balance was also poor, with significant travel expectations on top of already demanding workloads.
One of the biggest challenges was the product's pricing. During the interview process, I was not given a realistic picture of how much more expensive the platform was compared to established alternatives in the market. Despite this, I was instructed to send pricing immediately after demonstrations, often without a detailed cost-benefit analysis or clear justification of the investment — making it extremely difficult to close deals in a market where buyers had well-established, lower-cost alternatives already in place.
There was effectively no ramp period. After a three-week onboarding process, new hires were expected to perform at 100% of quota. Targets also appeared to change without warning. While updating my forecast in Gong, I discovered my quota had been increased by €150,000 with no prior communication. When I raised the issue, I received only a vague apology and no meaningful explanation.
Despite these challenges, I performed strongly in my first full quarter. I delivered 25 first-stage demonstrations, comparable to senior BDMs in the business, and built a healthy pipeline for Q2. I also closed the largest deal in my market in the company's history, something that was publicly praised by both management and the founders.
Two days later, I was dismissed.
The reason provided was my cold-calling activity, despite the fact that I had recorded the highest number of dials on the team the previous week and booked eight demonstrations. I had also built a strong pipeline and had verbal commitment on another significant opportunity that would likely have contributed to a record Q2.
What was most disappointing was the process. There was no Performance Improvement Plan, no written warning, and no meaningful notice. I was invited to what was described as a routine catch-up call with my manager. Given the recent success of the deal I had closed, I genuinely expected it to be a positive discussion. Instead, HR blindsided the call and I was informed that my employment was being terminated.
What has stayed with me most since leaving is the genuine confusion around what I could have done differently. Looking objectively at my performance, I was doing what was asked of me: generating opportunities, running demonstrations, building pipeline, closing business, and maintaining activity levels. Despite that, I was dismissed with no meaningful warning or opportunity to address any concerns.
Having worked across a number of startups and scale-ups throughout Europe, I have never experienced an organisation where job security felt so uncertain. During my time there, I regularly witnessed colleagues being removed from the business with little apparent notice, often accompanied by the same generic internal announcement stating that they were "not meeting expectations" or were "no longer aligned with the role."
While every company has the right to make performance-based decisions, the frequency and manner in which these departures occurred created an environment of uncertainty and anxiety. It often felt as though people could be let go with little warning regardless of the effort they were putting in or the progress they were making.
Ultimately, my experience left me questioning not only my own dismissal but also the company's broader approach to supporting and developing employees. For an organisation that places such a strong emphasis on growth and opportunity during the hiring process, I found the level of support, transparency, and consideration shown to myself and other employees during difficult conversations to be deeply disturbing to say the least.
