Organizational Culture in startup

​Where to even begin writing about start-ups? There is so much already written; however, among all the statistics, reports, tips, and advice, I miss something more detailed and tangible about the importance of building an organizational culture from the beginning. It is entirely understandable that every founder is passionate about the product they are developing. It is also understandable that the founder wants to focus on potential clients, investors, customers, and million new things one has to learn. However, a very fundamental criterion of success is forgotten: to ask yourself, how am I as a start-up founder mentally prepared for the challenges I need to confront? Do I know people in my team?  What kind of relationship do I have with myself, others around me, and the world in which I work? Success depends mostly on the relationships within people in the organization. Larger corporations that have been in the market for decades face tremendous challenges when they want to change organizational dynamics and culture. It is much easier to develop values, relationships, dynamics from the beginning rather than changing deep-seated and established habits of behavior, and thinking later on. 


Mike Burke (Founder of Q6) deliberates on his Blog: "Anyone involved in a start-up, or any early-stage business, really should address how they want their company culture to become. It's often tricky, especially if there are only a handful of employees, to picture ever needing company values, a company ethos, or a focus on culture. Still, these early days often help set the tone within the business for years to come. "


"One of the biggest lessons I've learned is that culture is really important. And I used to think that you could just hire smart people and expect them to do wonders for you. But if people don't fit within your company culture, they will be more likely to butt heads when it doesn't make sense, quit when things aren't going well, and not care for your company. " Neil Patel, Crazy Egg, Co-Founder.


"The culture of a start-up is defined by three things: 1. How the founders behave, 2. Whom they recruit, reward, and recognize. 3. Whom they release (let go). " Darmesh Shah, HubSpot, CTO Co-Founder


We understand all this and much more under organizational culture. Eric Berne developed one of the models, DNA of Organizational Culture, where he researched the impact of the organizational structure, rules, laws, policies on employees' behavior in the organization. And between these two categories, an invisible and intangible sociological phenomenon develops, which we call culture.


If you would like to know more about developing a start-up culture, please contact me.