BrieBug Software, Inc. Review

I guess I have to give a 1 star but would give a negative if I could.

I've been working with Briebug for just over half a year and my experience has been really great! Having done my own due diligence 6 months ago I was a little taken aback by the reviews on here, so I thought it would be good to share my recent positive experience so you can create a more accurate and holistic view of Briebug.

Having worked for companies that are both smaller and larger than Briebug it seems like Briebug has found a size in between where it can combine the best of both worlds. It has the personal attention and work-life balance of a small company with the supportive processes and roles of a large company. At the same time it is quickly growing which allows the employees to grow with the company and benefit from all the opportunity it brings.

Some of the personal attention and work-life balance benefits; there is an open PTO policy in place and HR is very understandable of people needing to take days off, sometimes on a very short notice. They are also really promoting to work from home which increases the work-life balance. Overall there is a mutual respect where Briebug is focused on the well being of its employees and focuses on the long term, and the employees knowing what is expected from them without any micro management.

On top of that Briebug has the resources to invest in everyone's training and they really stand by their value of continued growth, allowing everyone to increase their skills and knowledge and follow their interests.

All in all it is a great company to work for!

I would give zero stars if possible. They are going under though eventually, so doesn't really matter.

I worked as a developer for Briebug from October 2017 through January 2018. This a long overdue fulfillment of my promise to post a review!

There is so much for which I am grateful! I credit the owner Jesse with having an important role in starting my development career. He offered me a position after observing my work as an intern and then a contractor with another company. It was my first salaried development job and I so appreciate his belief in me.

Pros:

-The investment in your professional development is exceptional. You will get to work in cutting edge javascript technologies and receive all the resources you need to train, including conferences and online classes.

-The joy of getting to work on interesting projects with all kinds of clients is a thrill. I still treasure some of the relationships I made as a contractor to this day.

-Connection to the developer community. Briebug is a leader in web development in Denver, and is making big strides to be a leader in Angular nationally. They host regular meetups as well as keep a busy schedule of conference speaking engagements.

-Benefits are in my opinion generous and competitive with the area.

Cons:

- If you're working for a contracting company, you have to be aware that their priority is to make money off you. If contracts run low for a time and not enough revenue comes in, you're at risk of being let go, and unfortunately I saw this happen more than once (although it was a rare occurrence). This provides motivation to make yourself the best you can be for them, which is a good thing, but it's not the way I want to be motivated.

- Unfortunately, I received an unpleasant surprise when it came time to give my two-weeks notice of resignation. The CEO let me go on the spot. I understand that this is not an unheard of practice, but after a two-year relationship with the CEO, which I had thought was very positive and encouraging, I was not expecting to be treated like this. Unfortunately, this meant that I was out of work for two weeks, since my new company couldn't bring me on until the first of the next month. As the sole provider for my family, this was a significant loss for us. I had a chance to briefly discuss this with the CFO, and I appreciate his compassion as he looked me in the eyes and told me it was a difficult decision. Still, we regret that I gave them the courtesy of a two-week notice.

I hope my experience, both negative and positive, is helpful for you. If I could remove this last experience, I would give Briebug my unqualified recommendation. However I will always be grateful to the company for investing in me and giving me my start.

We have been working with BrieBug for a year rebuilding a legacy phone app ionic framework in Angular js. The initial angular version was released several months ago and is used more than 1,000,000 monthly. We have moved on to rebuilding server elements of the project. Very competent developers and great people to work with.

This company lies to employees and have horrible ethics! They did not eliminate my position, it was taken over by a friend of one of the owners. Another employees position was taken over by the wife of the other owner.
They "laid me off" due to "budget cuts" then told the unemployment office the three people I was laid off with were "fired" due to being "incompetent". They sent us out of the office with a letter of recommendation on your typical computer paper, no letter head. They are shady and will do anything to save a penny. This is true for employees or clients.
If they wished the best for their past employees, they wouldn't lie about laying them off, they would want to help them. Do not recommend for service or as a career option.

Not to mention they still have my CELL PHONE NUMBER listed on some sort of business credit site!! I get 5 sales calls (at least) a week asking me if I am the owner of the company "Briebug Software Solutions" and these companies are trying to get me to sign up for loans.

I would recommend this company to anyone needing services in this area. They are great to work with, if you want people who are honest and provide high quality and professional work. They definitely go above and beyond what is asked of them to serve their clients and make sure their clients are happy. Definitely use them!

I've been working with Briebug for over five years now and couldn't be happier with the company and the direction it's going. Here is a list of just the top few reasons why:
- The number one thing that drew me to Briebug was the focus and importance placed on continual growth as a developer and a person. I had never worked for a company before that cares so much about my personal and professional growth and is willing to provide the support and resources to help me achieve my goals.
- Just as crucial is that Briebug is a place where integrity matters. Starting at the top, any time we face a challenge or tough situation, the first question is, "am I/are we doing the right thing?".
- Everyone is looking out for one another. It's not often you find the level of expertise on this team paired with just as much humility and encouragement.
- Most software developers love what they do, but I know that some companies out there are ok if you don't. That isn't the case here. On multiple occasions, I've heard leadership encourage developers to speak up if they're not enjoying the project they're on to work together and find a better fit.

A growing company with a great passion for what they do. Hard working developers and a commitment to growth.

Don't really understand why there are so many negative reviews. I've been to a couple of their meetups, both at the location as well as elsewhere, and have been quite happy overall. I wish they had diet soft drinks, but La Croix plus Keurig works, too! It is a bit different from many other meetups, obviously, they are both the sponsor and organiser, and often the speaker, but they don't overdo anything (I've been to many meetups, so, I do know!), and it's all in good taste overall. Has many repeat attendees, coming from all over the Denver/Boulder area, unaffiliated with BrieBug (seriously, I can't believe some of the reviewers complain that they apparently may have to attend these meetups as employees! Free gourmet pizza and socialising with fellow devs FTW!).