{"id":911,"date":"2015-01-20T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-01-20T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.thinkapps.com\/?p=911"},"modified":"2016-03-31T16:55:53","modified_gmt":"2016-03-31T23:55:53","slug":"how-start-startup-creating-company-culture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/entrepreneurship\/how-start-startup-creating-company-culture\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Start a Startup: Creating Company Culture"},"content":{"rendered":"

Zappos<\/a><\/span> is renowned for its core values and culture<\/a><\/span>. In fact, the online shoe and clothing shop is so adamant about culture fit that they pay people who don\u2019t fit into their culture to leave the company.<\/em><\/p>\n

Every person the company hires, no matter what department she’s\u00a0in, goes through a four-week training program. New hires answer phone calls for\u00a0Zappos<\/a>\u00a0customers for the first two weeks of training. But it\u2019s after the first week that Zappos offers to pay people for the training with an additional $2,000 bonus if they quit right on the spot.<\/p>\n

It may seem like a ludicrous way to operate a company, but it’s effective at weeding out the people who are just in it for the money.<\/p>\n

Alfred Lin<\/a> was Zappos’ number two in command for five years. During that time he brought the online retailer to its first profitable year in 2006 and was integral to its $1.2 billion acquisition. TechCrunch says that Lin has the Midas touch<\/a>, because every company he\u2019s ever worked for has been acquired, with the smallest deal amounting to $265 million. Now he\u2019s a partner at the venture capital firm Sequoia Capital<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As part of\u00a0Y Combinator<\/span><\/a>\u00a0president\u00a0Sam Altman’s<\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>How to Start a Startup<\/span><\/a><\/span> course at Stanford University, Lin gave a\u00a0lecture<\/a>\u00a0on\u00a0the importance of culture when it comes to developing a high-performance team.<\/p>\n

(For more startup advice, check out\u00a0How to Start a Startup: The Book<\/a><\/em>. It’s\u00a0the ultimate reference guide to creating a successful tech startup.)<\/strong><\/p>\n

What Is Culture?<\/h2>\n

Lin says that the real question is what the company culture is going to be. In its most basic form, company culture can be defined as ___\u00a0member of the team in pursuit of a company\u2019s ___.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s all about how you fill in the blanks. Assumptions, beliefs, and values fill in the first blank, and an action fills in the second blank.<\/p>\n

Why Does Culture Matter?<\/h2>\n

When determining why culture matters, Lin quotes Gandhi<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\u201cYour beliefs become your thoughts. Your thoughts become your words. Your words become your actions. Your actions become the habits. Your habits become your values. And your values become your destiny.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It\u2019s impossible to pursue your company\u2019s destiny if you don\u2019t have a good culture. When you define your company culture, you\u2019ll always be using it as a guide for business decisions. This provides you with \u201cstability to fall back on\u201d because “it becomes a way to align people on values that matter to the company<\/a>,” explains Lin.<\/p>\n

A defined company culture does three things:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Provides trust.\u00a0People like to know what type of company to which they\u2019re committing themselves. And, as a founder, you\u2019re trusting that you made a good hiring decision because they share your values.<\/li>\n
  2. Helps you figure out what to do and what not to do.<\/li>\n
  3. Allows you to retain the right employees.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    In a popular Medium essay<\/a>, Brian Chesky<\/a>\u00a0of Airbnb<\/a>, pinpoints why culture is so important to him as a founder.<\/p>\n

    “The stronger the culture, the less corporate process a company needs. When the culture is strong, you can trust everyone to do the right thing. People can be independent and autonomous. They can be entrepreneurial. And if we have a company that is entrepreneurial in spirit, we will be able to take our next ‘(wo)man on the moon’ leap,\u201d Chesky explains.<\/p>\n

    \u201cEver notice how families or tribes don\u2019t require much process? That is because there is such a strong trust and culture that it supersedes any process. In organizations (or even in a society) where culture is weak, you need an abundance of heavy, precise rules and processes,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

    Not every hire is going to be a good fit. There\u2019s no way around that. But the benefit of a strong company culture is that it makes it that much easier to weed out the bad hires from the good hires. Being able to know who to keep and who to let go right away will save your company.<\/p>\n

    Creating and Defining Culture<\/h2>\n

    A company\u2019s culture begins with the founding team and leaders of the company. The definition of that culture is based on the values of those people. Lin advises that you ask yourself these questions to determine the direction of your company\u2019s culture:<\/p>\n