The Startup Playbook, 2nd Edition

Chapter 28You Don't Run Your Company, Your Culture Does

At Innoveda, a company I (Will) co-founded, we knew there were two cornerstones to our success—the people who worked there and the culture we maintained. We believed that if we did well in both hiring and supporting the right people and established an ideal environment for creativity, hard work, teamwork, and success, that everything else (with a little luck, of course) would work out. And it did.

Our philosophy drove us to a stringent hiring process. We didn't care how long a job was open. We only filled new roles when we found the right person for the job and the culture of the company. And, the culture was paramount. We explained the culture in interviews and told potential hires that if they didn't like it, they shouldn't take the job. Then, once hired, we indoctrinated each new employee with classes on the culture. Further, adherence to the culture was part of the employee review process.

Yes, I absolutely believe that culture makes a difference.

Culture is the foundation of execution. It's not a specific culture that matters, but one that gets deeply adopted, promotes teamwork, and ultimately success. Innoveda didn't always run smoothly, but the culture and the teamwork that came from it carried us through the problems to an IPO, and later, a sale of the company.

Moving Forward

By this point in the book, you have some fuel in your tank in the form of money. You're in the process of building your product, and you're ...