STARTUP : CULTIVATE YOUR (SOFT) POWER
A lot has been said about the secret sauce of success in the startup ecosystem, whereas it resides in the disruption, team, market, product, business model, etc. But essentially it all comes down to having to be seductive. Hear me out. It’s common sense that the best founding team has to be complementary, skilled, has to work with fast iteration, blablabla. This list can be very long but ultimately a good founder has to be attractive / has to set an attractive environment to convince the best employees, clients, investors, partners and so on to join the adventure. That’s it! And without this very environment it might be difficult for a startup to reach success.
There’s an existing notion in politics and diplomacy that I think can be used in our ecosystem. I’m talking Soft Power. A bit of context first: in the 90’s, the American political scientist Joseph Nye highlighted the importance of “influence” in international relations. In addition to traditional military and financial powers, he invented the concept of soft power. With the success of the term, Nye has since refined the idea of soft power : power through influence rather than coercion, as opposed to the “hard power” of “arms and money”.
Basically, if the “hard power” values punch actions — military for example when it comes to a state — the “soft power” is intended to be more diffuse. It develops communication actions that aim to make a nation’s image and attractiveness shine through its culture and values.
This notion of soft power can be applied to startups and be used as a tool to scale and grow faster. But if most startups know that culture is important, they find it elusive: it seems hard to define and even harder to control.
What is culture ?
A company’s culture is largely an output of the people who work there. Indeed, culture is something that you systematically have. As long as you work as a team, a culture starts to grow. Whether it is good or bad.
Culture is not foosball tables and free smoothies. And while a solid benefits package and healthy working environment are linked to increased productivity and employee satisfaction, they do not constitute company culture.
Culture is generally set by the company’s founders. They gather some core values and then constitute a team and an organizational chart around these values. They decide who to reward and promote. They either welcome feedback and challenges or are threatened by them. Their behavior sets an example to the rest of the team, and the rest of the team models it.
So, how do you create and nurture that culture ?
1 — It has to come from the founders and it’s easier if you work on it since the beginning because once your employees start to have habits, it’s really hard to change. But as growth continues, culture is constantly challenged: we must therefore accept that what was true yesterday will not necessarily be true tomorrow. This dilution then occurs gradually and it is necessary to know how to identify which decisions remain under the founder’s control and which others can be delegated.
2 — Establish your values and your purpose : it is important to determine what the company’s values are and what is the mission you are all on. You need to ensure that everyone in your startup knows what is expected from them, even down to a daily deliverable and what success looks like. In uncertain startup times, guidance gives clarity but also ensures alignment. Spend time and identify your business’s purpose and mission, and let everyone be guided and motivated by it.
Also make sure your team and culture are energized, disciplined and goal orientated. While it may be hard to manage and keep high performers, use clarity of thought, honesty, respect and trust to keep the team focused on the mission.
3 — Set up a good structure : if this is a side point in the eyes of many companies, employees who do not have a clear conception of their function in the company will be less satisfied on a daily basis. Traditional organizational charts are good, since they simply show who you depend on and who you answer to.
4 — Hire Well and Repeat : as your company will grow those values might fade away. So make sure these values are at the basis of the recruitment process. Indeed, selection and fit of new employees is key to company success.
5 — Set the Environment : this is the most difficult and time consuming part but it’s crucial. Because if you don’t do it, all you did before that will quickly fade way. The best thing to do is to set up a monthly routine with your employees. Either via 1 to 1 meetings or via speeches for the whole team but you have to facilitate the transmission of information. The more transparent the better. Also talk directly to your employees and repeat the messages of : why we are here, what are our goals, why we do that, what is important to us, what are our core values and so on.
At last and this is the fun part, don’t be shy on celebrating your successes via events like team lunches/diner, parties or any dumb but fun activities your team may like (I’m talking Karaoke).
Applied to companies and brands, soft power is a new paradigm. Soft because it is less directed and more immaterial, this outreach strategy nonetheless produces very real effects. In a nutshell : invest in your culture to maximise your soft power, you’ll lay a fertile ground to :
- Recruit the best and limit your turnover
- Meet your first client and limit your churn
- Sale and scale as you grow
- Finance yourself from the best investors
- And so on.
Moreover, in a time where preferences are rapidly diluting, soft power helps build charisma and anchor brand immateriality in people’s minds.
One of the french startup who dug deep into this culture and value thing is Alan. They were aware of the importance of the culture from the get go. Take a look at their mission and purpose. It’s always hard to know whether that culture is the reason of Alan’s success but it clearly maximised their attractiveness and allowed them to engage their best collaborators, investors, clients, partners, etc.
Nowadays culture, vision and purpose are becoming more and more important in a startup path to success. But it’s obviously a necessary but not sufficient condition. Having such a focus from the early days of your adventure is a must to maximise your soft power and gain attractiveness and influence. All the more so as conventional corporate communication no longer meets the expectations of stakeholders such as society, employees, investors, politicians, partners, etc.
If you want inspiration take a look at the values of some of the best startups : https://builtin.com/company-culture/company-core-values-example
Sharpn is a fundraising advisor supporting ambitious entrepreneurs. We aim to support startups from late-Seed to Series A round.
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