My Promises As a Founder

To my future self. To those who choose to work with me to create something great. And most importantly to my customers.

Its LinkedIn official — that is a thing right? If owning a company and running a startup is like being in a relationship then LinkedIn is the place to publish it right?

Regardless, I got many people congratulating me on my new “job”. It has been several months of working on it, but it hasn’t really felt like a new job because it isn’t anything like I’ve done before. It is a first for me and “Job” just doesn’t seem to be the right way to describe it. Founder seems to be the predominant selection by many and it fits for the most part — mainly because it is just me. I founded it; I’m not leading, managing or presiding over anyone. Because of this, I felt that now is a good time to outline the things that have been on my mind leading up to this.

1. Be Transparent…as possible.
   I want my employees to always know what is going on with the business. Even more so, I want them to have the drive to find out. For this reason, I will always push for open data about the business. This includes financials, business metrics, and business plans/strategies.
2. Call to Cancel…only if you want.
   I don’t know what my future holds. Is Giving Great going to be successful, or will it fail and there will be something else. But one of the things which will help to determine its success is if customers click that cancel button, because there will be a cancel button. My products should not make it hard to actually cancel if it no longer works for them. I shouldn’t hide the “cancel feature” to protect my failure to provide value to them.
3. A customer is a customer is a customer…
   I will do my best to treat all customers fairly and as equally as possible. Why does this have to be a thing and said? Because I truly believe in customer support and the support experience and the value it provides to a business. A quality support experience can smooth over a product failure and even buy time to prioritize a solution. Customer support should not just be looked at as a “Cost of Doing Business”, but in terms of ROI.
4. Work/Life Integration
   I don’t have an on/off switch. Friday doesn’t mean I switch off until Monday and just because it is Tuesday, doesn’t mean I shouldn’t be able to make a lasting memory with my kids. The time I spend working doesn’t have to be meaningless or not provide value to something which I care about and/or impacts my life directly. My view of life might be unique but I strive to live it my way and I share my vision with others. I hope I can empower future employees to see the value in such a lifestyle which provides a rewarding working experience to grow individually and collectively and to make their world better.