Creating A Kick-A#! Culture Dharmesh
Shah, Founder/CTO v3

Hi, I’m
@dharmesh

All-in-one marketing software

Gross MRR Dec-06 Feb-07 Apr-07
Jun-07 Aug-07 Oct-07 Dec-07 Feb-08 Apr-08 Jun-08 Aug-08 Oct-08 Dec-08 Feb-09 Apr-09 Jun-09 Aug-09 Oct-09 Dec-09 Feb-10 Apr-10 Jun-10 Aug-10 Oct-10 Dec-10 Feb-11 Apr-11 Jun-11 Aug-11 Oct-11 Dec-11 Feb-12 Apr-12 Jun-12 Monthly Revenue Recurring Aug-12 Oct-12 Dec-12 - 1,000,000 2,000,000 3,000,000 4,000,000 5,000,000 6,000,000

Gross MRR Dec-06 Feb-07 Apr-07
Jun-07 Aug-07 Oct-07 Dec-07 Feb-08 Apr-08 Jun-08 Aug-08 Oct-08 Dec-08 Feb-09 Apr-09 Jun-09 Aug-09 Oct-09 Dec-09 Feb-10 Apr-10 Jun-10 Aug-10 Oct-10 Dec-10 Feb-11 Apr-11 Jun-11 Aug-11 Oct-11 Dec-11 Feb-12 Apr-12 Jun-12 Monthly Revenue Recurring Aug-12 Oct-12 Dec-12 - 1,000,000 2,000,000 3,000,000 4,000,000 5,000,000 6,000,000

culture: Set of shared beliefs,
values and practices.

Now, an
observation…

Most startups don’t think much
about culture.

WE’RE PUTTING A DENT IN
THE UNIVERSE. THAT’S OUR F#!@ING CULTURE!

Culture?. Relax. I got this…
We have beer and ping-pong

Create a culture? Sounds fishy.
Culture should just happen.

WHY SHOULD YOU SPEND CALORIES
ON CULTURE?

You may not be able
to craft culture. But, you can kill it through neglect.

2nd Law of Thermodynamics: Left
alone, most things degrade to crap.

convention
over
configuration

“Startups are about people who
build sh#t.” - @sgblank (earlier today)

Culture is about getting and
engaging amazing people.

product:marketing
::
culture:recruiting

product is to marketing as
culture is to recruiting

The effective interest rate on
culture debt is usually higher than technology debt.

Cultural debt is rarely “forgiven”
You’re going to have to pay it.

Questions for your culture deck:
1.What are we doing? 2.Why are we doing it? 3.What do we believe? 4.Who do we want joining us? 5.How do we get them? 6.What does success look like?

Don’t create the culture you
think you should have. Create the one you want to have.

Whether you plan it or
not, you will have a culture. And, it determines your destiny.

Why not create a culture
you love?

tweet me: @dharmesh Slides and
notes: CultureCode.com