If the Shoe Fits: Is Culture for Startups?
by Miki SaxonA Friday series exploring Startups and the people who make them go. Read all If the Shoe Fits posts here
Tony, a founder, called and asked why I kept harping on culture instead of providing real help to startups. He said that culture was all very well, but there was enormous pressure to get the product out, meet with investors and hire people, especially considering the high rate of churn he sees.
In short, Tony believes that culture is a rich CEO’s game; not something a hard-charging founder should be wasting his time on.
I sent him a link to David Hornik, a guy at August Capital who invests for a living, who had this to say in a post on his blog that I saw at Business Insider.
…why am I so high on company culture as an investor in startups? It is because culture matters. Companies with a strong culture inevitably find it easier to recruit like-minded employees. What’s more, a strong culture dramatically decreases attrition. Companies with a shared purpose are more efficient — they work well together in pursuit of a common goal. Employees can appreciate their company’s priorities and focus on the stuff that matters. And, at the end of the day, fun and games matters. People would rather work at a company that they genuinely enjoy and believe in than one that lacks any real sense of purpose.
There are dozens of others I could send, but after our conversation I doubt they would impact him—Tony’s mind is made up.
What about yours?
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Image credit: Bun in a Can Productions
