Rocket Internet - DOES ANYONE HAVE THE SCOOP?

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I happen to know quite a few people who have been working for Rocket, and based on what I've heard from them, avoid it. They attract people to the organization by promises of great opportunities for career development, prospect of a high salary and equity stakes. Some of them even left behind jobs in MBB or top tier IB's, and most of them are now regretting that decision. Almost all of the people I've spoken to were both unhappy with the way that management ran things and also because they quickly found out that the high salary and equity stake would never become a reality. The company has an extremely high employee turnover at the junior levels because people realize that they've been taken for fools once they're a few months into the job.

In sum, I wouldn't do it if I were you.

I'd say it really depends on the specific project as you could get a pretty high-level experience with tons of responsibilities that you'd never get anywhere else.They know what they're doing, they're globally the best in executing E-Commerce start-ups, they got the cash.

On the downside, I second Domino. It's brutal, the Samwer way is pretty straight-forward: "We always win!" They do everything to win and to get rich (what they are). Problem: They do not care that much about you and also won't allow you to get rich (even if the comp package is pretty decent, you're not getting much equity etc.; it's all about them cashing out). If it's not going that well or rapid expansion is on the line expect it to be Banking 3.0 - there's just no margin of error on how they operate. They would kill to make it happen, that's what they expect from you too.

About which venture are we talking here? Furnitue?

The only cool thing about Rocket is that they send me virtually all around the world. I know people working for them in Brazil, Australia etc. which I think is pretty cool.

Anyone else have any info? Also, any info regarding their 'Entrepreneur in Residence' position?

Seems like Rocket had some problems with attrition recently. Apparently lots of people moved to other incubators due to the harsh working environment and disagreements about how things should be done.

If you're up for it, probably there are some opportunities coming up because of this.

Very interesting topic. Sombody else has some insight on the incubator space in Berlin?

thanks a lot, much appreciated!

Thanks for the comments. Anyone have Entrepreneur in Residence specific feedback?

Has anyone heard of the Leadership Rotational Program that Rocket has? Is this different from the Entrepreneur in Residence position? Also does anyone have any idea of the pay?

Thanks.

I'm interviewing for the internship program of Rocket Internet. Very interested in hearing further info about this company.

I went in there and met with Oliver Samwer the other week. They found me on LinkedIn as have been aggressively cold calling people from banking, consulting backgrounds to bring them into their start-ups. I had also read about the significant attrition, although I believe a lot of the hiring is more driven by rapid expansion, they have received some institutional funding which they now need to go and put to work.

As an i-banker myself, it seemed potentially interesting, but ultimately too high-risk for where I am in my life/career. They stated pay was 'enough to live' (which didn't sound too appealing) but with some equity upside (but I highly doubt that would be very large). Their offices in London were all over the place in terms of organisation (as you may expect for a start up). I'd say go in there and see if it's your cup of tea. But don't be fooled that you'll make the big bucks in this immediate venture - best option is its an incubator for yourself to then successfully execute your own start up.

I do know that they hired some analysts from my bank, top 3 BB bank, which frankly I was surprised by, but that may be because they had left the bank anyway.

Good luck!

A buddy of mine is a country CEO for one of their companies. He loves it, and seems like he’s learning quite a bit. They fly him all over the world and he’s making solid contacts.

They're starting in my country. The MD country was from McKinsey and the CEO of portfolio company (which I will help during the summer) is an ex-banker/PE guy. It seems like I will get tons of responsibilities. But I'm worried about b-school placement since Rocket Internet is not exactly a name known for innovation. And like mnkybiznis said, the risk is pretty high.

Does anyone have info about MBA placement from Rocket Internet? Thanks!

I assume some of you are Canadian applicants. For those of you that don't mind, what school do you guys go to and what year are you in?

Just trying to get a general sense of the applicants they're looking at....

No, I'm from an Asian country actually. Think Thailand, Hong Kong, China. Applicants are mostly from local universities and those who studied overseas in Singapore.

How long will this "copy/paste" of e-commerce websites last? Even if you will receive responsabilities and learn something you would not see in IBs and MBBs, I think at the beginning of your career it is better to learn some decent hard skills (ie.: financial statement analysis, financial modelling, valuation, etc.) than learning how to set up an e-commerce platform in Asia. I'm interested in their MBA placement as well btw.

What do people do when their start-ups fail with Rocket anyway? In IB and Consulting the Exit Opps are pretty clear, but not really for this? After 3 failed attempts I assume that you have to go, right?