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Human Capital
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aising capital isn’t always necessary for a company’s survival—but it has the potential to help accelerate growth, improve scalability and provide the exciting opportunity for others to engage with the product, people and mission. However, if you’re thinking of taking on investment funding, be prepared for both the pros and cons that come with it—specifically, the impact an influx of capital can (and will) have on your company’s culture. To achieve long-term success, it’s important to learn how to cultivate and protect your company culture. Doing so is particularly vital in times of rapid growth when a company’s culture is most at risk of falling apart. Protecting the “secret sauce” that helped you succeed enables you to scale the culture and ensure it grows with you. For this article, we are taking the position that your company is in a solid position and funding partnerships will be used to grow and scale the business, rather than as a bailout. In the latter scenario, a culture change may be prudent.
The Importance of Scaling Culture
How to Maintain a RockSolid Culture During Funding and Growth DR. HEIDI JANNENGA, PT, DPT, ATC
Co-founder and Chief Clinical Officer, WebPT
The heart of any company is its people, and culture is what steers them. Culture represents the organization’s pulse, driving behavior, decision-making and ultimately, achievement. Culture shapes employee motivation, affects productivity and performance, and determines how management and staff interact in the workplace. However, this philosophy shouldn’t just apply to employees, but to all company stakeholders (e.g., customers, vendors, shareholders, surrounding communities). To protect the culture and keep it rock-solid during times of fast growth—particularly when taking on investment—companies must scale their culture to match the pace of growth. In my experience, taking on an investor who does not share the values underpinning the company culture is a recipe for disaster. In building out your diligence checklist, it is critical that cultural alignment is a top priority. Most investors do not want to be operators, but there are some firms that do. Depending on what the needs of the business are, and what the vision post-investment looks like, I have found that it’s essential to match expectations of the founders or management team with those of the funding partners.
Building a Solid Foundation
To create a scalable, winning culture that can stand its
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