What is the most important investment you should make in your startup before launching?
Office? Computers? 401K? Bean Bags?
How about this! COMPANY CULTURE!
the most critical and undervalued asset that can lay the foundation for the growth of your startup. ESPECIALLY if you are working in remote teams.
WHY?
Because it is proven to:
1- Increase employee engagement
2- lessen employee turnover
3- Better customer satisfaction
4- Helps make sure everyone is working towards same company goals
5- It can actually Increase company value
You don’t believe me, look up companies like Zappos, google, facebook and other big names startups.
SO WHAT ARE YOUR RESPONSIBILITY AS A STARTUP FOUNDER?
1- Define the company culture based on your own values such as leadership, hardwork and success
2- Founders must ENFORCE this company culture at all cost. Meaning, even if you have to let go of employees that are opposing it
3- DO THIS before you even hire the team. Remember it is always easier to enforce things from the get go and not at a later time.
4- you must live by it.
HOW DO YOU GET STARTED?
Don’t overthink it, just Start small and add as you go.
Here are 6 changes you can implement and build on immediately into what you can refer to as “Your Startup Constitution”
1- Identify the company’s main purpose and values such based on your own as a founder ex: personal growth – professional growth and team growth
2- Create at least 2 activity that engages the full team together: ex: your own book club – pitch practice or even video game day
3- Define your online or in-person meetings routine
Connect all units of your company by sharing stories, ex: support stories
4- Humorize the experience by having your graphics person create short funny videos or graphics of the weekly team progress
5- Try to measure the progress of the culture points routinely to see the impact it has on the team as a whole
Because I love you guys, I am sharing with you our original Vbout culture that we crafted, you have my full permission to use it for your own, in return, like us or follow us, wherever you are watching this.
PEACE!