The tech industry in the nation’s capital, like in other cities, has become incredibly competitive for talent. At the center of this arms race is the crucial necessity to build a positive workplace and culture.
Just last week, The Washington Post released its annual list of top local workplaces and the D.C. tech scene performed especially well. The list included, among others, Social Tables, EverFi, APT and iStrategy Labs.
To instill culture, you first have to find the brightest, most innovative, creative, and thoughtful people.
For those who have been around the startup scene for a number of years, and have likely heard the phrase “startup culture" on repeat, it may seem like a meaningless term. And a quick Internet search will lead to a number of parody videos.
HBO’s hit show "Silicon Valley" uses the idea, perhaps most notably, as a central plot that brings hilarious dialogue on a consistent basis. But company culture is obviously about much more than what Erlich Bachman talks about while chewing on a weeks old pizza slice covered in hash oil. D.C.'s startup executives take it seriously.
Allen Gannett, the CEO and founder of D.C.-based marketing analytics startup, TrackMaven, defined company culture as,“the specifications for how [an] organization functions. The habits, quirks, and patterns of the company make up the culture.”
Earlier this month, TrackMaven announced that it would be relocating its corporate headquarters to a 22,000-square-foot space located at 1 Thomas Circle NW. The new location is more than four times the size of TrackMaven’s current office and will be accompanied by a large hiring push. As the startup looks to rapidly add to its team, it faces a challenge in also scaling up the culture that has brought it this far. Gannett's high expectations of his team will remain the same.
At TrackMaven, the company works to reinforce good habits by,“giving every member of the team personal autonomy, respect and in turn, expecting a high standard of communication from everyone … [we] talk openly about where we are exceeding, meeting, and failing at this bar and constantly surveying our team to see what is going well/not well,” Gannett told DC Inno in an email.
Dan Berger, the founder and CEO of District-based event management software startup Social Tables, believes in a more hands-on approach to establish culture.“[We] are unique because the foundation of our company is a nurturing culture, which we commit to by being a deliberately developmental organization (DDO).”
DDO is a term that was first coined by the Harvard Business Review to describe companies that, "can prosper only if its culture is designed from the ground up to enable ongoing development for all of its people ... Any meeting may be a context in which you are asked to keep making progress on overcoming your own blindspots."
In our email interview, Berger added, “we believe that challenging ourselves (both our personal and professional selves) to be better than we were yesterday is the only way to spark true innovation, achieve a familial, supportive culture, and achieve business success.”
About 6.5 miles northwest of Social Tables sits the headquarters of up-and-coming Chevy Chase, Md.-based wedding services marketplace provider, WeddingWire.
WeddingWire is led by former Blackboard executive Tim Chi, who believes culture comes from the talented people his company puts a priority on finding and then recruiting.
Chi told DC Inno in an email interview, “To instill culture, you first have to find the brightest, most innovative, creative and thoughtful people and convince them to join you on your journey … ultimately, what your culture develops into will be a function of the people you have on your team — so find great people.”
Chi also said that culture is “organic and constantly evolving because it’s an amalgamation of the unique taste profiles, past experiences, hobbies, perspectives, and passions."
WeddingWire currently employs about 650 employees and that number is quickly growing. At DC Inno’s State of Innovation event, Chi spoke about the role that proactive recruiting and quality training plays in forming a great company. Over the last several months, there have been rumors that WeddingWire is eyeing an IPO in the future and this idea was further perpetuated when the company brought on new CFO Mike Beach.
In 2014, Optoro, a D.C.-based developer of cloud-based software to help the retail industry deal with excess goods, hired Emily Holland White to be their "Director of Talent.” White was promoted to the position of Senior Director in January and focuses on building a unified team.
White told DC Inno that the company believes culture starts at the top. “We define company culture as the shared values and beliefs an organization practices and exemplifies every day ... I work closely with our co-founders to make sure that the work that we deliver both internally and externally is a reflection of our values."
Optoro reinforce their supportive team mentality by, "recognizing one exemplary employee every month who embodies our core values and has crushed it.”
White said that establishing Optoro's company culture was and continues to be a central theme that remains inherently at the heart of various business decision, including everything from office design to selecting particular investors.“We’ve instilled a strong company culture by communicating and infusing our values into every aspect of our business ... culture is vital to making sure our team reflects Optoro’s complex mission of tackling the business, logistical and sustainability challenges in the retail returns industry."
D.C.-based EverFi is another fast-growing company but its business and customers are vastly different from companies like SocialTables and TrackMaven. EverFi is an edtech startup that develops software that is used directly by schools and students. It's platform helps teach students financial literacy.
CEO Tom Davidson says that his company’s customers and broader mission has a significant impact on what EverFi’s culture looks like from the office floor.
Davidson told DC Inno, “We've assembled one of the most passionate, purposeful and enthusiastic teams anywhere – people who truly believe in our mission to build the education network of the future. Our mantra is nothing important happens in the office – everything happens out in the communities we serve.”
"Our mantra is nothing important happens in the office—everything happens out in the communities we serve."
The edtech CEO explained that "EverFi is a flat organization with very little hierarchy," that "encourages risk-taking."
Under Davidson's guidance, EverFi has managed to stretch a $10 million Series B from 2012, which was participated in by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and Twitter co-founder Evan Williams, until now. In March, DC Inno gave the company a top seed ranking in Tech Madness because of the strong growth potential that the startup continues to show.
In terms of weekly customs and traditions, Davidson said that his company takes the time to do weekly celebratory meetings that help encourage everyone’s commitment, “we convene to share wins from the week, celebrate “unnatural acts” performed by our team members.”
