Jeff Grass, a serial entrepreneur, explains why it’s important to establish company culture early.
PEOPLE
- Guest: Jeff Grass, Chairman & CEO of HUNGRY
- Host: Anil Hemrajani, Founder of Startup Sidekick
TAKEAWAYS
- Do not underestimate how important it is to set the culture early on versus have it evolve by default
- Have clarity around of who you are, why you exist, and how you want to operate
- HUNGRY’s 9 Core Values (entrepreneurial, simplicity, people centered, positivity, integrity, gratitude, urgency & determination, quality, efficiency)
- Tips on establishing culture in your startup: determine what’s important to the business and to the founders. Core culture should be set by founders and live by them (e.g. reference back whenever appropriate).
TIMELINE
- 01:00 Jeff: Background (born, school)
- 01:43 Jeff: How he got involved with HUNGRY
- 02:15 Jeff: The Why, How and What of HUNGRY
- 03:25 Jeff: What culture in startups means and why it’s important (fabric of company, environment, mindset, glue, etc.)
- 04:15 Jeff: Lessons learned on why to take culture seriously early on
- 05:40 Jeff: What I would have done differently in past and have now done at HUNGRY (e.g.9 core values, shared expectations, intentionality)
- 07:52 Jeff: What HUNGRY’s 9 core values look like in daily operations (e.g. positivity, reinforcement)
- 11:02 Jeff: Advice on establishing culture in any startup
- 14:27 Jeff: Handling issues (e.g. example of a conflict)
- 16:30 Jeff: Personal time and work-life balance management (stay healthy, prioritize aggressively, turn-off work at/after dinner time, delegate)
0