Because experience doesn’t necessarily make people better at what they do
When should a startup start to write down its culture and values?
As a startup founder, I deeply believe two things:
- Company culture starts with your first hire and is fundamental to long-term success.
- Small, early-stage startups don’t need a lot of process, documentation, or formality.
So, you read my career management advice and you’ve decided you want to join a mid-stage, hypergrowth startup. Great. Now—how do you go about it?
The 3 Levels of Employees: Level 1 — You do what you are asked to do. Level 2 — Level 1 + You think ahead and solve problems before they happen. Level 3 — Level 2 + You proactively look for areas of opportunity and growth in the business, and figure out how to tap into them.
Recruiting the best people is a superpower. When Alabama football won 5 titles from 2009-2017, they had the #1 recruiting class 7 years straight. Harvard grads accomplish exceptional things mostly because exceptional people apply to Harvard. Winning starts by finding winners.
Be patient. Think longer-term than anyone else in your industry. Be impatient. Don't let a day pass without doing something that contributes to your long-term vision.
Reduce the scale, not your standards. Aspire to do exceptional work and apply that standard to everything. Book. Article. Tweet. Doesn't matter the size. In the long run, your brand is the quality of work you do. Sacrifice quality—anywhere—and you sacrifice the brand.
Own your distribution. (In my case, my website and email list.)
Stay small even if you can afford to be big. The more people you have on the team, the harder it is to get everyone rowing in the same direction. The cost of consensus is more expensive than the cost of payroll.
Share the profit with employees. Get the incentives aligned. Everyone should get a slice of the upside. When the business wins, we all win.
If you want customers, write emails. twitter.com/davenemetz/sta…
