Your Only Sustainable Advantage: Why Culture, Vision, and Values are Non-Negotiable

In the hectic world of early-stage startups, it’s all too easy to let operational challenges and day-to-day firefighting eclipse what truly matters. We often overlook and underestimate the foundational importanceof company culture. If you are intentional about defining your culture and values early on, the impact on your organization’s performance and long-term success will be immense. In our first FCC expert series, we sat down with Roger Egan, current Co-founder & CEO of Nurture, an immersive learning platform for families. And prior Co-founder and CEO of Redmart, the largest online grocer in Singapore, which was acquired by Alibaba in Nov 2016.

The Key Takeaway: Culture is Your Competitive Edge

Our biggest learning? Culture is your only sustainable competitive advantage.

Culture it is a strategic imperative. A strong, positive culture is key for:

• Attracting and Retaining Top Talent: The best employees seek an environment where they can thrive.
• Empowering and Motivating Employees: A clear culture gives employees the framework and motivation to do their best work.

And if you are not proactive in defining your culture, the culture will evolve on its own without your input.

Setting the Foundation: Vision and Mission

Before you can define your culture, you must establish the "why" and "what" of your existence.

1. Vision: What You Acknowledge You Will Never Stop Striving For

Your Vision is the ambitious, inspiring future you continuously aspire to become. You will never fully reach it because you can always do better, but you will always be striving for it.

• Rule of Thumb: It should be ambitious and inspire a beneficial societal impact, not just a revenue or growth target.

2. Mission: Your Core Purpose

The Mission is your fundamental purpose - the reason you exist. What meaningful impact will you have on the world?

• Rule of Thumb: This should often stem from the founders' personal reasons for starting the business. This story becomes a crucial part of your culture and brand.
• This meaningful "WHY" that resonates with employees is the super important foundation for your brand.

Cultural Values: The Environment for Excellence

If your Mission and Vision are the destination, your Cultural Values are the map and the rules of the road.

As founders, your single greatest value creation will be the culture you build - the environment that enables your employees to do their best work, both individually and as a team.

How to Define Your Values:

• Keep it Simple: Don't have too many—aim for 5 or 6 max.
• Be Actionable: They must be easy to remember and actionable in daily work.
• Form a Committee: Consider a "culture committee" of senior leaders to discuss, debate, and agree upon the values most critical to achieving your Mission and Vision.
• Read for Inspiration:
  
   
  • For customer-centricity: Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh (Zappos).
   
  • For defining culture: What You Do Is Who You Are by Ben Horowitz.

Building Values into the Organization

Once established, values must be constantly communicated and ingrained into the organizational structure. This means building them into:

• Onboarding: Introduce them from Day 1.
• Team Meetings: Reference them in decision-making.
• Recognition & Performance Reviews: Measure performance against the values.
• Hiring: Vet candidates for cultural fit.

Crucially, senior leaders need to lead by example and live by these values every single day.

The North Star: Aligning Priorities

Finally, you need a North Star - a set of metrics that align all colleagues on how to prioritize their work and make daily decisions.

By taking the time to be intentional about your Vision, Mission, and Cultural Values, you are not just ticking a box; you are investing in the only sustainable advantage that can power your startup from scrappy beginnings to long-term success.