Web devs : beware - Lead Developer Excelisys Employee Review

If you are a self starter and internally motivated eXcelisys is a top of the line company to work for. Being an independent contractor requires personal discipline but also provides ultimate freedom to design a custom work schedule that fits your own rhythm of life. There is plenty of work available and the company structure allows for autonomy in the time and location of work, but the work has to be done in a timely manner with professional results. The business structure delegates all of the business tasks to a specialist so that everything is managed by someone devoted to that slice of the business. For developers everything other than development is taken care of by someone designated to that aspect of the business; leads, sales, marketing, project management, billing and client followup, so that you can focus on your craft and develop your skills. Developers are responsible to maintain and expand their skill set and getting projects done on time. One of the most valuable characteristics of this company is supportive culture. Developers, like everyone else, are encouraged to ask and answer questions of each other in an open forum so that everyone learns from real world issues that occur in active projects. This causes everyone to grow their technical knowledge and be conscious of best practices. While each person works independently on their own projects, it is a team atmosphere where the best and brightest thrive. This is a company for people who want to be in charge of their own life, have strong technical skills and have the maturity and discipline to be on task and on time with their work.

Whether eXcelisys is a good fit or not for a prospective developer is in large part determined by whether that person has self discipline in their work life. This is not a company for people who prefer to have someone dictate their daily tasks or need to have someone else outline the work to be performed. Because everyone works in their home office (or wherever else they choose), there is nobody to check your schedule or look over your shoulder to make sure you stay on task. That lack of daily accountability can be difficult for some. For others the isolation of a home office may be difficult. The social aspect of the company comes through chat and online forums like Slack rather than face to face office contact on a daily basis. The company has tried to partially alleviate that by having a conference to bring everyone together every other year. But for those who like regular face to face contact, working independently can be a struggle. Those who prefer to have a steady, reliable paycheck that is the same each pay period and benefits provided by an employer may struggle with being an independent contractor. In this arrangement the more you work, the more you get paid because it is all based on billable hours. The faster and more efficient you are, the bigger your paycheck. Those who work the most and produce high quality results also get the most work because they become dependable producers.

Unfortunately, I can't think of any pros.

In my 25 years as a full-stack developer, this has been the most unprofessional company I’ve worked with. They repeatedly deducted hours from payroll invoices without prior discussion, even before processing. Additionally, they refused to compensate for meetings with clients or internal team meetings. There was a complete disrespect of my time, whether it was in scheduling, invoicing, or communicating. A deeply disappointing experience.