1. We are a startup

We believe that what defines a startup is that it's a company designed for growth, independent of its age or size.

Prioritize Growth: Growth is a goal of ours, both as a company, and as individuals, and no growth over a long period of time is a failure in our books.

Embrace Constant Change: Growth brings change, and we’re comfortable with that. We don’t get attached to the status quo, and we embrace experimenting with new approaches, whether we end up sticking with them or rolling them back. What works for organizations that are mostly static (e.g. detailed budgets and yearly plans) won’t work for us, and that’s okay.

Maintain Focus: Even with limited resources, there’s never a shortage of great opportunities and ideas we could pursue. It’s important that we maintain our focus, which means being comfortable saying ‘no’ to certain opportunities from time to time.

Be principle-driven: The company’s general direction is defined by core principles, and not a preoccupation with fine details or rigid specifics. We are comfortable with ambiguity, and trust that the details will become clear and more defined over time.

2. We have opinions

Form opinions: We form our own opinions, and don't let our starting point be conformity. Our opinions provide new perspectives, new solutions, or new critiques.

Strong opinions loosely held: We challenge what others say, defending our position with arguments and data wherever possible. We let the best idea win; we aren’t overzealous about our ideas, and are happy to change our mind when we find we are wrong. Our discourse is respectful; we criticize ideas, not people.

Make mistakes but keep moving: If a decision has to be made and we haven’t all agreed, we disagree and commit to the plan. We will make mistakes, and we will not blame one another for mistakes.

3. We take ownership

Owning something means you are responsible for making sure it gets delivered well and on-time, whether you execute it yourself or not.

Have bias for action: Get the ball rolling as soon as possible with the simplest step. Don’t create unnecessary barriers for the sake of perfection; perfect is the enemy of great. Bias for action means never procrastinating.

Set the agenda proactively: It isn't like someone else figures out all the details and we just execute them blindly; we're involved in figuring out what needs to be done, set the agenda proactively, work on developing preliminary solutions, and have the ability to make decisions without blocking others, unless absolutely necessary.

Be self-accountable: Every person is in charge of what they do, so we hold ourselves accountable before anyone else does. We create things we are genuinely proud of, and that reflect our high standards and quality. 

4. We are transparent

Raise flags early: We do not wait till the last moment to tell others about anything important; we raise flags early. If you’re unsure if others are aware, remember that over-communication is better than under-communication.

Be radically honest: We are radically honest; we hold tough conversations early and openly instead of postponing or avoiding them. If we have a problem, we talk to the people involved directly first. We believe knowing things - even if they are bad - is better than not knowing them.

No misuse: We trust each other with information, some of which might be sensitive, so we handle this trust responsibly, ensuring it is not misused or used in a way that could harm others or the company.

5. We are a team

Just like a sports team, to win you have to have the best players and they need to play together as a team.

Best-in-class: We want to work with strong world-class people, and we invest in developing people to keep growing.

Shared journey: We all succeed together as one unit: we are therefore all responsible for maintaining the high  quality of our team, to win consistently. You do not want to be a strong football player in a team that has a bad goalkeeper. If you see something wrong, say something.

Maintain trust: We assume that everyone else is operating with good intentions, trust each other to make reasonable decisions, and give each other the benefit of the doubt.

Us, not me, not you: We shine together as a bright constellation, not as individual stars. We are selfless; we focus on serving the team and achieving its shared goals. We recognize how others enable us, as opposed to focusing on what we deliver as individuals. We speak up on behalf of one another.

6. We have integrity

Do right: We want to be able to sleep well at night; we do the right thing morally.

Not all about the money: We do not measure success purely financially.

7. We are systematic

Have organizational knowledge: We understand that humans forget, or might not always be available, and therefore do not depend on tacit knowledge for important matters. Rather, we make our knowledge explicit.

Achieve repeatable results: We design systems to have predictable and repeatable results through the use of processes. We try to understand cause and effect by being data-driven to avoid flukes.

Learn from mistakes: We will make mistakes, but we shouldn’t make them twice. We codify lessons learned in our processes.

Perform a balancing act: Being too systematic or systematic too early can be as bad as not being systematic due to the overhead it can introduce. We are conscious of the balance between being systematic and being pragmatic. We try to learn from doing things before we build a hypothetical system around it.

8. We value well-being

Sometimes overworked, not always: While there will be days where we're overworked, we should be at a reasonable load more often than not. We should take time off to relax and recharge.

Embrace differences: We recognize that different people have different needs, and try to accommodate those needs accordingly and support each other. You might work better at night, or need time to pick up your kids from school. We’ll support each other’s lifestyles where it makes sense.

Work hard and have fun: We try to be a happy team that has fun at work while still working hard.