How To Build The Most Unparalleled Company Culture

Company culture is a critical aspect of every business. It defines the company's personality, sets the tone for the quality of work, and provides the groundwork for future strategy.

Culture is created with the founding team and amplified through the first hires.

Some of the most negative founding attitudes include:

• Selfish founders who only care about their title or pay

• Angry or frustrated founders without a clear strategy

• Negative founders who complain

• Fearful founders who should be employees

• Toxic founders who want to sabotage the company if they don't get their way

In contrast, some of the best founding attitudes include:

• Confidence based on experience

• Frustrated with a clear strategy or purpose

• Optimistic founders who uplift those around them

• Selfless founders who seek the good of the company first

• Hardworking founders who will do whatever it takes to grow

The first hires will amplify these attitudes, good or bad. For example, one of my co-founders had to get their way and built a similar engineering team, and pretty soon, there were tremendous problems.

Influential founders hire stellar employees because their networks, the ones they trust most, are similar. For example, a co-founder with a do whatever it takes attitude brought in employees with the same, and pretty soon, the entire company was working toward a common goal.

Side effects

When company culture works, the team often shares interests outside of work. At the most successful startup I was a part of, we rode bikes, kayaked, and ran during lunch. Many at the company participated in running and cycling races in their spare time. This competitive attitude helped the company increase.

Duplication

Strong founders bring vital employees, who in turn get other stellar employees. This is the first value of culture and why it must be carefully cultivated. As the company scales, all positives and negatives will exponentiate.

Pruning

Just as a tree needs to be cut back for the best growth, a company must also prune away the less-than-excellent members. Despite best efforts, toxic employees will sneak in with their own agenda. It is critical to remove them quickly. For this reason, adopt the mantra of hire slow and fire fast.

Scale

The scale must be managed. Just hiring people based on skill is not good enough. We see this in software development, where managers bring in contractors or hire overseas teams. While cost-saving, these measures can damage morale and turn product development into a race to the bottom.

Gone wild

Left unchecked, culture can spiral out of control. For example, at a fintech startup, I was part of, we had a culture that was an extension of the options fund we spun out of. This was a traditional capital markets boys' club. We hit tennis balls inside, went to expensive lunches, and made fun of each other as part of the conversation. While it worked to develop smart products, it caused issues with growth.

Conclusion

Culture becomes more challenging to maintain as the company grows. For this reason, particular importance should be placed on hiring managers. These managers must understand the importance of the company's culture and clearly define what that means. If they do not fit, do not hire them regardless of their resume, skillset, or network.