Cotopaxi reviews

3.1

44% would recommend to a friend

(136 total reviews)

Lindsay Shumlas

46% approve of CEO

44% positive business outlook

Cotopaxi has an employee rating of 3.1 out of 5 stars, based on 136 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Cotopaxi employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Ventas al mayoreo y al menudeo industry (3.5 stars).

Reviews by job title

136 reviews
2.0
Aug 9, 2019
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

· In the Wild Time · Working for a B Corp still in start-up mode · Young and fun team · If you want to be in the outdoor industry perhaps they are the best of the worst

Cons

· Before the Cotopaxi team reads this and starts crafting up their response consider that this will now be (at least) the 3rd or 4th review calling out the office politics · Suffers from a lot of delusions other start-ups do and has a lot of growing up to do. Lack of real benefits, constant changes in direction, unfit cowardly managers, and maxed out team members to name a few. This team seems to think the guiding principles of start ups is something to aspire to rather than a cautionary tale. Crazy considering the very publicly acknowledged poisonous culture of Silicon Valley. I don't care about your fun conference room names and free snacks as much as I care about being treated with a little dignity when I am at work. · Lack of direction on strategy and agreement up top creates a lot of whiplash at the expense of junior team members. This team loves to chase new shiny things and it often feels like changes in strategy come completely out of left field · No 401K yet · In desperate need of an HR person. It’s mind boggling that the executive team doesn’t seem to understand that. But then again, most of the exec team is barely ever in the office so how would they even begin to comprehend what's happening. The lack of an HR manager means there are lot of terrible office politics and behind the back discussions happening that could benefit massively from having an objective third party. Also no thanks on your stat about what's a typical time to hire an HR manager. You know when a good time is to hire one? When team members are constantly providing feedback about the need for one. That should speak volumes. · Poor communication particularly from managers and execs who make decisions without a trace of discussion with team members. Not professional, not respectful. Maybe try real performance reviews and constructive feedback. · The executive team prides itself on putting people first. This very much does not feel like the case. The team is often dismissive of feedback particularly from junior team members. Even when they’re trying to accept feedback they tend to handle a lot of conversations inappropriately. All the Motivosity points and Officevibes couldn’t fix this. · They promote a lot of people who manage up well but do not take the time and resources to actually develop individuals who might be truly great managers. Frankly most of the team doesn’t have the time to develop anyone, often opting to leave them to their own devices. This sets those team members up for failure. Very lazy managing that often results in having the blame put on junior team members. · The “say yes” and “no jerk” culture create a lot of unnecessary pressure and ambiguity. People say yes even when there isn’t bandwidth. This tension combined with inflated expectations and maxed out managers who don’t have time to navigate these tensions with team members creates a lot of failed efforts and an unhealthy dynamic. These mentalities aren’t progressive, it’s toxic. · For an organization that believes they support women, they seem to believe that having women in senior roles somehow computes to being a progressive supporter of women when in reality a lot of junior women in the team don’t feel safe to excel and provide feedback in the environment they’re working in · There is general mistrust of nearly every single executive team member with the exception of newer additions to the team · Giving people surface feedback that doesn’t include constructive improvement discussions puts people in a place where they’re sure where they stand on performance. Dancing around these tough convos isn't considerate, it's cowardly · The Do Good mentality they tout ends up feeling like a hypocritical and deceptive slap in the face when it’s all said and done.

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Cotopaxi Response
6y
First of all, thank you for the feedback. While getting tough feedback is never fun, we know we can't improve without getting honest feedback. I think a lot of your feedback is valid, and I'd love to address a few things that have happened since your departure. 1. HR - Last year we began exploring what other companies are doing for HR and we got feedback that most companies don't hire a full-time HR employee until they reach 100 team members. This seemed to make a lot of sense, so we made that our plan. What we've seen over the last year is that given our culture and mission, our employees expect more out of us than a typical organization, and frankly, we want this to be a place that cares more than a typical organization. Starting this month (September 2019), we have a senior HR executive that will begin working at Cotopaxi in a part-time capacity. This individual previously headed up people and talent at a large outdoor retailer and at one of the biggest US airlines. We're excited about this change, and look forward to how we can tackle some big strategic issues together (including compensation, promotion, on and off boarding, people strategy, etc.). 2. 401k - As most startups, we didn't have a 401k at launch, and instead used equity to help compensate our team. Now that we've turned 5 years old, it's time for us to have a 401k. Our CFO is exploring options right now, and we should have something in place by January 2020 (if not sooner). 3. Employee feedback - We've long had 1-on-1 meetings between managers and direct employees where two-way feedback is given and received by both parties. We understand that sometimes the temptation is to not give hard feedback because it can feel awkward and can impact our relationships with our co-workers. We're currently evaluating (with our new HR hire) a new format for 1-on-1's and we're also having all leadership in the company (30+ people) read a book called Radical Candor, which addresses this very issue. If you felt that hard conversations were not brought up by your manager about ways you could improve, I can understand your frustration. We need to do better, and we're working on that. 4. Leadership development - Last month we kicked off a formal Cotopaxi Leadership Development Program (LDP) with leadership coaches where they are putting on four modules of four classes each (16 half days) over the next five months. We have about 35 leaders within Cotopaxi along with several high-potential young future-leaders going through this program. We also have an off-site leadership meeting next month where we'll be doing additional training, development, and strategy discussions. Ultimately, I really value your feedback, and I hope you can see we're making meaningful efforts to improve where we have shortcomings. I wish you the very best as you search for your new role and next chapter. Davis Smith, CEO
1.0
Mar 30, 2026

Very quickly and steadily declining.

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Some of the best entry-level and mid-level teammates you could ever wish for. The perks inherent to remote work are also present here.

Cons

Executive-level leadership does not care, in any observable way, about its employees. Company meetings with feedback and AMA have been entirely canceled, pay raises, summer camps, team offsites, bonuses, paths for growth - all are completely gone. You will scarcely hear from your executive leaders and when you do, it is platitudes and meaningless corporate jargon that doesn't address any of the actual needs or frustrations of the employees. They hide in their tower while every team in the company is suffering. Cost-cutting has become the executive-level obsession, they will replace anyone and everyone, even the very best people that have ever worked at the company, with AI or contracted workers, with absolutely zero remorse. They continue to integrate more and more Ai-powered systems despite claiming to be a company about sustainability. They have no interest in getting to know anyone, they don't care about your life, contributing competitively to your healthcare premiums, raising your wage during a particularly inflationary few years, they simply don't care. Your team can be masterfully fiscal, tens of thousands of dollars below quarterly budget, and they don't even want to hear about merit increases, they won't ask how they can better support your team, if you are staffed well enough... They Do. Not. Care. To make matters worse, for some inconceivable reason, they have begun micro-managing every department like crazy. So the reality is this: you hear nothing from leaders, you can't pass feedback up the chain, there is no avenue through which feedback can be provided, then you'll hear from mid-management that leadership wants you to output more, or start to work weekends, or make due with less. There is nothing you can do and no one you can speak to about your frustrations. People Ops plays pretend that everything is great and if you give them feedback they just type an empty 2-paragraph response about how they are working hard to transition to the changing landscape, or something. Any leadership quality you can summon up in your mind is not found in Cotopaxi's executive leadership team. Self-awareness? Painfully absent. Respect? They give you none, yet expect it to be given. Compassion? Nope. Vision? We are approaching the mid-point of the year with no unifying vision or company goal, having not met as a company since early December. Communication? Nonexistent. Gratitude? Only if "work harder for less money" means gratitude.

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Cotopaxi Response
1mo
Thank you for sharing this and for recognizing the strength of the team. We hear the frustration in your feedback. At the same time, we want to clarify a few points. Over the past several months, we’ve been working to reset our cadence of company meetings, establish clearer lines of communication and feedback at all levels, share clearer strategic priorities for 2026 and beyond, and introduce updated values to guide how we work together day to day. We’ve also been clear about our approach to AI, with a focus on using it responsibly to support our team members and not leveraging it to replace what makes Cotopaxi and our team unique. We know consistency in how this shows up across teams matters, and we’re focused on improving leadership visibility, communication, and overall support for our team members at all levels. When concerns like these come up, raising them directly with your manager, department leader, or People Ops does help us better understand and address them.
2.0
Dec 22, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Passionate, talented teams who care deeply about the mission. Strong brand story and products people are proud of. Good cross-functional exposure and opportunities to own meaningful work. Financial discipline has improved.

Cons

Several newer leaders struggle with basic people skills: communication, trust-building, and awareness of their impact. As a result, they don’t create an environment where people can collaborate, innovate, or even connect with each other in a meaningful way. Teams often end up working in silos or waiting for top-down direction instead of feeling empowered. Company-wide communication is overly scripted and out of touch with what teams experience day to day. In smaller settings, the tone shifts significantly, conversations can feel tense, reactive, and at times intimidating, which discourages honest dialogue. Promotions often favor new executives over long-time internal talent. Leadership turnover is constant, and vision changes with each new exec. The leadership team talks about wanting to be a “different kind of outdoor brand,” but they haven’t defined what that actually means—and many are still new to the outdoor space entirely and don't take the time to get to know an industry that is important to many. It creates mixed messages, volatility, and a lack of alignment across teams. The culture that once felt balanced and inspiring has become more top-down and disconnected.

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Cotopaxi Response
3mo
Cotopaxi has always been shaped by passionate, talented people who care deeply about our mission. Thank you for recognizing areas of progress while also sharing constructive feedback. As we continue to scale, we’re focused on strengthening leadership expectations, clarifying priorities, and ensuring teams feel supported in delivering strong results. That work is ongoing, and it deeply matters to us. – Cotopaxi Leadership Team
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Glassdoor has 150 Cotopaxi reviews submitted anonymously by Cotopaxi employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Cotopaxi is right for you.