Startuppers’ Values — A starting point for our journey

Bree Clare
Jul 25, 2017 · 3 min read

Building our values from how we intend to work for you, the community

Values, values, values everywhere. Some companies have few and some have a very comprehensive list. Some are a simple word and others are a statement.

Here are a few handpicked examples:

Adidas
Performance: Sport is the foundation for all we do and executional excellence is a core value of our Group.
-
This is unique to Adidas as a leading sportswear company

Build-A-Bear
Cele-bear-ate
- I kid you not (I love puns)

Facebook
Move fast
- One of the most well known and has been part of their culture from the beginning

American Express/Barnes & Noble/Southwest Airlines
Respect
- R-E-S-P-E-C-T seems to be a common theme for a lot of companies

I believe that values should always lean more towards being realistic than aspirational. They should also not be something that is ‘business as usual’, nor should they be vague and difficult to interpret into action. Your values should be in the back of your mind with every action you take and decision you make for and with the company (the ‘How’ if you will) and in turn become organically engrained in the company. Instead of something lofty that no one can relate to, let alone use in their day to day work.

With this in mind I found it daunting to reflect on what the values of Startuppers should be (well our first version) and then to share those. Who am I to say? Would I be completely off the mark? However, the more I thought about it the more I realised that it’s less about what I think they should be and more about how I want to work.

So with that in mind, here are the four core values of Startuppers:

  • Be Inclusive — Everyone is welcome, everyone has a unique voice that is valuable and we should all sit together at the table. This goes above and beyond a simple diversity check-list.
  • Share — We should never stop learning from one another. Everyone can grow from an environment where we all share our lessons, our wins, our skills, our resources and in turn listen to each other.
  • Empower — We build each other up and support each other, giving each other the confidence to be our best selves and do our best work. We are stronger when we recognise and utilise each other’s strengths.
  • Be Transparent — This is safe space for everyone. We are free to be open and honest here without fear of ramifications. There are no hidden agendas, there is no secretive behaviour.

These are our values and how we intend to work, keeping in mind that these will probably evolve over time and will be reviewed by all Startuppers periodically to ensure we are all still aligned.

So what your company’s or even your own core values? Feel free to share in the comments below or on Twitter.


If you’re a worker in a startup, we’d love you to come on the learning journey with us.

If you’re a founder, investor, leader or simply involved in the broader startup community, we’d love your support. Let us know if you think you can help.

Startuppers

For the people who work in startups

Bree Clare

Written by

Startuppers

For the people who work in startups