According to VC Delian Asparouhov, early company culture is malleable but quickly solidifies. The micro-decisions and wins a founder celebrates—technical achievements versus PR hits—shape employee focus permanently. Trying to change it later is disruptive and painful, like using a jackhammer on set cement.
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While motivational speeches and office amenities are often cited as culture-builders, the most effective way to create a positive and engaged company culture is simply to win. Success itself is the ultimate motivator, making everyone excited to contribute and perform at their best.
The initial period of struggle and repeated failures, while painful, is what forges a resilient team and a strong, frugal company culture. These early hardships create shared experiences that define the company's DNA for years to come.
As a company grows, new hires lack the context of early struggles. To preserve the original culture, formally document and share stories of early failures, pivots, and near-death experiences during onboarding. This reminds everyone of the core principles that led to success.
MicroConf's friendly and helpful atmosphere, where even eight-figure founders are humble, is attributed to the non-polarizing personalities of its founders. Aggressive leaders attract aggressive followers, while supportive leaders attract a supportive community.
Base Power's culture of execution was set by its first ~10 hires—senior leaders from Tesla and SpaceX who initially worked as individual contributors. This "lead from the front" model, where leaders still do IC work, cascaded through the company as it scaled to 250 people.
Co-founder Slava Rubin initially dismissed defining company values as a waste of time. Co-founder Danae Ringelman championed the process, and its success was proven when Slava later asked her to return from leave specifically to reinforce the company's culture, highlighting the essential value of this work.
HBS founders define culture as "what people do when you're not around." It's not about posters or perks, but the ingrained behaviors that guide decisions in your absence. This makes hiring for cultural fit more critical than raw skills, because values can't be taught.
Roughly 80% of a company's culture is a direct extension of its founder's personality. Facebook reflects Mark Zuckerberg's hacker mindset; Google reflects its founders' academic roots. As a leader, your role isn't to change the culture but to articulate it and build systems that scale the founder's natural way of operating.
Culture isn't created by top-down declarations. It emerges from the informal stories employees share with each other before meetings or at lunch. These narratives establish community norms and create "shared wisdom" that dictates behavior far more effectively than any official communication from leadership.
A strong culture isn't defined by perks during good times; it's proven by how the team operates during crises. Companies that face significant struggles early in their journey often develop a more resilient and authentic culture, which becomes a crucial asset for long-term survival and success.
