SMS.ac / FanBox

I applied for this job at the end of July and heard back from a guy named Ahmed, he asked I take a standard graphics test to see if my skills are up to par. I was actually happy they did this to avoid getting any candidate who may not be up to par. Anyway, I send in the test and that was the last I heard. Emailed again two weeks later, and no response so I wrote off the job as "I am not good enough" and left it at that. Cut to ONE MONTH later and I get a response from another person named Vera. She tells me that they reviewed my test and liked what they see and would like to do a phone interview. I agree and we have our interview. The interview was a very standard HR type interview, "what is your best quality, what do you do when you are challenged etc." She said she will call me by the end of the week, the interview happened on Wednesday. Friday came and went and no response.

Monday arrives, and I get a call from Vera (no apology for not getting back to me), saying they would like to do an in person interview on Thursday. I agreed, and we lined up a time for me to interview. They inform me where to park (at my expense) and told me to show up 15 minutes in advance. I do this and show up at the correct time and meet up with Vera. Vera walks me into a room and then asks if i need anything and tells me she will be right back. Thinking that I would interview with more than just her and she would be getting maybe my new boss or co-worker she arrives back with my water and a clipboard, no other employee. Interview was pretty much the same interview I did with her on the phone and we talked about standard HR business questions. That interview ends and she informs me that there is a presentation about the history of the company that will happen in another room with another HR person.

The presentation was interesting, they went over the history of the previous company SMC.AC, the ups and downs of staring a company, .com bust etc. From there they go into the history of fanbox.com, how/why it started, what they do, what their plan is. The guy who was speaking seemed nice enough, very into what he was doing and drank a ton of rockstar. The presentation ends and we ask a couple questions, he then proceeds to talk about how the "joke of the day" texts are still going on (I guess a product that SMC.AC made a lot of money with back in the day) and opens up his phone and tells us a joke he got from a friend. The joke was not only not funny, but really inappropriate to tell. He got a good laugh out of it, and the candidates who were in the room with me chuckled awkwardly. Shortly after that, he let us know that there is yet another interview after this one.

I met with a girl who walked me to another room where I waited (for what I thought would be either my boss, or someone in P-Dev department) and I got neither. Turns out he is in tech, and he asked me a series of questions mostly pertaining to how I do in certain situations (which was asked previously by the first HR lady) and also mentioned that this company is a "startup" and there is a chance of not getting paid due to this reason. Also, asked about my general work ethic, how I felt about long hours and asked to see some of my other websites I have designed.

So after 2.5 hrs of interviewing, it was finally over and I could go home.

Overall, I felt the place had a very odd energy, very vacant building (from my understanding they went from 200 people to 50), and on top of that, I never saw anyone working, (I arrived at lunch time but left much later than lunch, and the building didn't feel our sound any more full). After the interview I did more research on the history of the company, the jobs etc, and I came to the conclusion to not take the position, mostly due to the reviews, the working hours (one HR guy said 55+ average work week), and the possibility that there is no pay because this company is a "startup". Which is odd, since they have been around for quite some time now.

Dude --- I worked there for almost 3 years and am a stockholder and the reason you think its S***** is because you did not get an offer. How can one possibly know how good/bad it is if they have never worked there? I can speak to it because I did.

What a bad part of human nature to criticize something vs. looking inwards at yourself. There are positives and negatives there for sure. I have never worked somewhere were everything was PERFECT --- that is why they call it work. If you want an enclosed/protective environment, I suggest going back to school. If someone finds such a place, let me know. I can ensure you that serving slurpees is not the answer.

I interview with them on May 2008. They hold something called Open House. When I get there, I am totally regret. The company looks like shit, the office looks broken, and the working environment is horrible. I don't get job there, because I really dislike the environment, and what they do (eg. SPAM). They only pay the airplane ticket for me to get there, but I must pay the ticket by myself when I fly home. It is different what they said before I came to there. I sent E-Mail to recruiter, and never got any response back. I strongly suggest people don't interview with this company, because they are doing things wrong. Also don't believe what recruiters say, because those are bullshit. Working in the 7-11 will be better than woring in this shitty company.

Getting a interview invitation back to July 2008, I rejected it b/c they didn't want to pay my air/hotel up-front. After a phone call, I was convinced by the recruiter. Anyway, I didn't get the job b/c I didn't like the company and its interview process. However,****be aware***** SMS.ac didn't reimburse my expense (even at this moment Sept 2008) but send me a Promissory Note in a term of 1 year. What I can sure is......if you didn't get a job, you maybe not have your reimbursement back. Be selective, guys. Of course, I totally agreed the posts right here, it is just the truth about this "Bad Apple".

I was caled by their HR to interview. Turned out to be a mass pitch at a hotel to sign people up to work for free as "founders" in trade for stock, pre-IPO opportunity. Ok, that is fine, not uncommon.

BUT. My whole background is growing software company revenue for Silicon Valley companies, so I sort of know how all this works from development, sales, marketing and how the investment money flows and deals get done.

Early stage or not, you do NOT invite everyone to a hotel and ask everyone to join the team. Pousti made grand comments, the crowd they invited did not have a sophisticated background to dicern. I then asked questions that any interviewee, and investor from Silison Valley might ask to understand the health, strategy, and likelihood for success (if working for free it is a valid question especially).

NOTHING made sense. Pousti got very testy with me for not lobbing softballs. He made a comment that clearly indicated he knew nothing about business from a professional sense.

My assessment was that the whole management crew there never rally worked anywhere else professionally that demanded them to learn real skills. Referencing a startup in your garage as your main experience (and no other) doesnt gain you quality experience. The people were at best horribly clueless but i also got the vibe they also knew that they were exploiting others for their gain.

I passed, of course took a real job for 200k a month later, and have done a few startups since that have been successful and all the while never asked anyone to work for free...

Hello, everyone! I just wanna post a review regarding the rumor that Fanbox is a scam. I am one of the living proofs that Fanbox is a legitimate site and that it is not a scam! I was able to receive my first bank cheque last June and I am still about to cash out my second one. Fanbox is one of the greatest websites ever created over the internet! It gives its people the chance to be themselves...having fun doing their passion (which is blogging!) and earning profit from doing something they really want. Fanbox is really a great help for all its members. Words are just not enough to explain how amazing Fanbox is! Try to be a part of it and prove it to yourselves.. I did and I never regret it..:)

I want to thank the people who took the time to write a review. You just saved me time, and money. I would really like to believe that this company might turn around but the responses here are overwhelming. thanks for the heads up and good luck to everyone, especially the employees at fanbox.

REMOVED DUE TO DEFAMATORY CONTENT

The managers here spin everything so it sounds like they are doing YOU a favor by making you work there for no pay. The so call free food is so disgusting that you pay for it later on if you know what I mean. Clearly they have no idea what they are doing and the managers are always yelling at employees and at each other then they turn around and swear that it is not political. If you work for retards they should at least pay you well for putting up with all their stupidity but on top of the misery you have at work you have to deal with going home without a paycheck.