Jobs

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 worked for these guys for 3 days, and that was enough for me. They have all these cultist rituals, like where you have to "build it up" 3 times a day with your team, and on Mondays the whole company does it. I saw that all the employees were about 19 years old, so they probably don't know any better, but no real professional would ever be able to stand this place.

Oh, and the executives had all these inspirational phrases memorized that they kept using. They didn't do any actual work, just kept repeating these cult phrases.

They basically hired me to spam millions of people everyday, which was one of the two major reasons I quit. The other reason was that they can't even pay the low salary they offered me.

In all seriousness, the fact that "Job Type" doesn't include slave labor really limits how bad these people are.

First, bad sign missed: can't make full pay checks. Next, stock options and "promissory" notes (new contracts promising pay within a year that get defaulted upon or absolved with exit agreements) Third, the executive board talks about "sacrifice," yet the CEO drives a v12 and invites everyone back to his posh downtown apartment to get wasted on "his" dime which he should be putting in your pocket. Fourth, for a start-up company with employees that have "stock" in the company, there's no visibility into the finances.

The company is shade ball beyond belief. It had a chance a one point, being one of the first in a micro payment market, but fucked it all up, bilking its customers with subscription based purchases for virtual goods that were (hardly) worth a one time purchase. I hope that this nonsense about people blogging takes off before somebody else steals their lunch AGAIN because it'd be nice to get paid all the money I'm due, with the back pay, and the damages, and the interest. If not, in the end, hopefully we'll see Pousti end up in a minimum security prison (no, not a j-o-b)

The other people that are there brain washed with you can actually be quite talented, very colorful, and worth hanging out with after the ordeal if you keep in touch. Anybody else though that has been with the company for more than 2 years(with maybe the except of one really nice kid) is on the "take" - yes, everyone making sacrifices are making different levels, especially the people driving it into the ground, e.g. Pousti and the board.

I cannot express how disappointed I am in myself for the time I wasted away being brain washed there. I'm all for a challenge but if I can make more the summer prior - with an internship - than with a YEAR spent at SMS.ac, FanBox, MobileGuard, or whatever sham name it uses now, then I take the internship again in a heart beat.

I did my research. But I turned a blind eye to all these reviews because I wanted a job, because they said they would pay. Open Communication my ass; lies are lies. Learn from our lesson and avoid these people!

Where do you start with these scumbags? There's just so much that's awful about this place!

Their 4 horsemen of the apocalypse: Mike Pousti, Brandie Williams, Ken Smith, and Josh Levy. These guys do all of Satan's bidding for fat paychecks while you slave away for nothing. They will convince you that everyone takes sacrifices there and that it will all be worth it because you own a piece of the company. Unfortunately, this company will never IPO, so don't expect to get anything for your stock. Not only that, but when they're recruiting you, they leave out the fact that the CEO and President own 90% of the company, so imagine how little that leaves for the VP's, SVP's, Directors, etc, and you're in line BEHIND them.

Still, the lack of pay isn't nearly as horrible as the treatment there. Expect to get yelled at on a daily basis. You'll also see the most unethical treatment of customers, other employees, and prospective hires. Here's a tip if you interview: don't expect to be hired if you're over 26, not "culturally American," or not the gender they had in mind for that particular position.

All of that, and the abuse doesn't end even once you've quit! You'll be tied up in lawsuits with these guys for months, trying to recoup a fraction of the back-pay they promised to pay you one day.

To sum it up: the CEO is a complete creep who gets drunk in the office and hits on much younger female employees, so what kind of place do you think this is?

Salary was supposed to be $52,000.00 after 3 months. They tell every new hire this, yet they barely have any money to pay [less than minimum wage to people that have been there for years]. Yes you heard that right. Don't ever expect to get put on what they like to call 'pay roll'. This company is a joke. Their management is a joke. Mike Pousti manipulates all the employees daily and tries to get you to think the company will make it. You work 12 hours a day with no overtime and absolutely no appreciation... and it's very hard to find time to look for other jobs because you're stuck in this shit hole all day. P.S. THEY JUST STOPPED PAYING ALL EMPLOYEES ON OCTOBER, 2009. THEY OWE EVERY EMPLOYEE THAT WAS WORKING THERE AT THE TIME A FULL MONTH'S PAYCHECK. They let go of half of the company then posted ads for the same positions... wtf?

I have an interview with Josh Levy tomorrow at FanBox - and I am very disturbed reading all these reviews. I am NOT in a position to not be paid for my work. I have a masters degree from Boston University that I am paying off among a million other bills. I just moved cross country and have seen this job posted once a month, which makes me suspicious. Any more thoughts from anyone about this company?