Culture Shock: First Hires + Why Company Culture Matters

Culture Shock

FIRST HIRES + WHY COMPANY CULTURE MATTERS

I’ve worn a cactus suit in Times Square,” Kun Yang, Co-Founder and CEO of Pricklee, laughs. He is cheekily responding to the question "when does a startup know " they’re ready to hire", conveying the philosophy shared by most successful CPG business owners: founders will do basically anything to stay as lean as possible for as long as they can. These scrappy, ambitious individuals are protective over their business-babies — after all, the only thing scarier than starting a business is bringing someone else on board. Despite their greatest efforts, though, there comes a day in their growth when the metaphorical cactus suit must be passed off to someone else. In this article, we’ll explore when to hire, what to look for in your first sales hire, and the importance of company culture throughout the hiring process and beyond.

KNOWING WHEN TO HIRE

If the cactus suit anecdote is any indication, Yang believes that founders can only be ready to hire after they’ve (literally) tried on every role themselves. “Our founding team was doing everything under the sun. We learned about the different functions required to be successful and became self-aware of our strengths and what we were realistically able to complete,” he says. No matter how menial a task, Yang believes that

founders need to gain the firsthand experience of running their business to determine where their core competencies

lie, and where there are holes to be filled. “Ultimately, hiring fills for a competency that would take a really long time or effort to build, or one that you simply don’t have a desire to build.”

Jake Kneller, CEO and co-founder of Sweet Nothings, believes that it’s time to hire when the founder(s) are no longer thinking strategically. “I’ll look back and reflect on a month and realize that most of it was tactical and operational,” he says. “But leaders need a vision, and a clear path to that vision for the next few years. If you’re at a point where you’re operating constantly and don’t have any time left to think strategically about executing 18 months out, you need to hire. That way, you can spend time being strategic and not just putting out fires.”

Deep Dive: First Hires in Sales While many brands hire freelancers or consultants for marketing and outsource operations and finance, many of the brands we spoke to were making their first in-house full-time hire in sales. And when it comes to finding the right salesperson for your team, there are few watchouts to keep in mind.

“One mistake I often hear is that people rely on specific category experience to determine fit. In reality, stage is more important,” says Kneller. For example, a long-time CPGer may have great experience continuing to build existing relationships with a major conventional retailer — but they may have never had to sell-in for the first time. They may have never supported a retail launch where they only got two SKUs into 20% of the stores. These instances require unique stamina and scrappiness. “Be more thoughtful about the skills you need today versus the sexy company on their resume,” says Kneller.

Prabal Chaudhri, CEO and founder of Brave Good Kind, further emphasizes that traditionally experienced salesmen are not necessarily the best fit for a startup brand’s first hire. While he was looking for a salesperson with CPG expertise — a firm understanding of cost structure, margins, etc.— Chaudhri also knew that he wanted someone with a startup attitude. “Your first sales hire cannot be individualistic. Old-school, snake oil salesmen don’t work anymore,” he says. “If your salesperson is solely focused on hitting their quota, they will accept all opportunities, even if they aren’t a great fit or would be risky for your brand.” Chaudhri’s first sales director, for instance, knew to turn down a $500,000 sale for the benefit of the brand. This individual also knew to take his ego out of the pitching process: “he does a great job of setting everything up, and then unleashing me as a strategic resource to close the deal. He knows I bring the soul of the brand as the founder. Ultimately, you don’t need a ‘great salesperson.’

You need a collaborator.”

It was also important to Chaudhri that this individual exhibit flexibility. “A great salesperson at a startup has to be comfortable with everything from building pallets to high-level strategy work and pitching confidently pitching to buyers at massive retailers,” he notes. “You need someone

with horsepower, but at the same time, the right attitude to accept eight ‘no’s out of ten.”

COMPANY CULTURE 101

Finding these superstar individuals, though, presents its own unique challenges for startup brands. “When you’re pre-revenue, nobody is joining you for money — they can get a higher salary elsewhere,” says Chaudhri. So where do you have leverage? The oh-so elusive company culture. “Prospec-

tive hires will be excited by the opportunity for greater purpose, legacy, culture and growth. You have to authentically sell on these things.”

There are several components that can contribute to a company's culture — each of which should be thoughtfully communicated to prospective hires:

1. MISSION AND VALUES. According to Yang, company culture is about moving away from selling your product, and moving towards expressing a brand.

In aggressively communicating Pricklee’s mission of

“resilience like the cactus, through moments of health, happiness and sustainability,” across their product and all channels, Pricklee began to attract mission-aligned individuals. “The conversations we have with our team go much deeper than product. They’ve become more about how Pricklee can make our teams’ lives feel more complete.”

For many CPG brands, the concept of “mission” starts and stops at product. “In the beginning, we were proud to just have a product that checked off so many boxes functionally and from a social good perspective. We knew we had what consumers were looking for,” says

Yang. “But we always felt that we were missing seeing authenticity in terms of moving away from selling your product, and moving towards expressing a brand.” This,

Yang believes, is the crux of “company culture.”

While it is crucial to live out the mission statement of your company, it is equally important to have firm values in place, displayed through everyday interactions.

“As a quickly-moving startup, we carry out the value that ‘a speeding ticket is better than a parking ticket.’

There’s a high cost of doing nothing,” says Chaudhri.

“We do things, we fail, but then we learn from it and can fine tune.” Living out this value, though, also means that employees must feel that they are given a license to fail.

This is one of Brave Good Kind’s most important values, and one that Chaudhri instills in each team member.

Similarly, Shae Whitney and Brady Becker of DRAM

Apothecary demonstrate and live out their value of mental wellness through their implementation of a four-day work week. 2. LEADERSHIP AND COMMUNICATION STYLE: The leadership style of the founders and top executives can have a significant impact on the culture of a startup. A leader who values transparency and open communication, for example, may foster a culture of collaboration and trust. At Sweet Nothings, leadership constantly prioritizes one-on-ones with all employees to keep an open stream of communication. “It can be time-consuming, but the face-to-face aspect matters.

We treat everyone as strategic partners – there aren't secrets at Sweet Nothings,” says Kneller. “Everyone knows how we are tracking towards goals, what our pain points are, where we failed. In the instance where smaller groups are making a big decision, I present it to the full team on our weekly call to explain the reasoning behind it.”

Great leadership, according to Chaudhri, comes from a place of “authentic confidence,” rooted in “rolling up your sleeves and being the first one in the fire.” This also means being especially brave in tougher moments.

“You need to have grace in delivering bad news, and help people understand that there is a reason for your decisions.” 3. WORKPLACE ENVIRONMENT: The physical environment in which employees work can also contribute to the culture of a startup. Of course, the physical workplace now looks a bit different for most startups, mostly existing on the screen instead of the office. But this intangible “environment” holds equal importance in crafting a culture.

“Our Slack channel is really active, and not just with work stuff,” says Kneller. “We have Slack channel called

‘in the kitchen’ where people post what they've been cooking and recipes. People chat about what they're going to make this weekend or what they’re eating on their vacation. It keeps things active and fun.”

The team at Sweet Nothings has also made a point to cultivate company culture in-person through quarterly team offsites. “Our offsites save us from hours of things lost in translation. Leaving opportunities for people to genuinely get to know each other in-person translates to not only more productive work, but much more rewarding work for each of our team members.”

These offsites are also an opportunity to make up for the lost “water cooler” time — casual side conversations that have led to some of the best ideas and innovations at

Sweet Nothings. 4. EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT: The level of employee engagement and involvement in decision-making can also contribute to the culture — a foundational culture of employee empowerment may be more likely to foster innovation and creativity. At DRAM Apothecary, for instance, Whitney and Becker encourage their manufacturing team to make their own decisions around work. “We have a policy that if you don't want to be at work, you need to go home,” says Whitney.

“We all have those days where we just can't find it in our souls to do our work, and when we're working on a manufacturing floor, that vibe can really weigh down the entire team. Our employees know they can say, ‘I need to not be here today,’ and they have an option to fill in the the hours on Fridays if they want the pay. We've only had one employee in our history ever abuse this policy. It's really helped maintain a positive atmosphere.”

Communicating Culture to Prospective Hires

“When you’re trying to offload some of your work, it can be easy to avoid the nagging feeling that someone might just not be the right fit,” says Whitney. But taking the time to ensure culture fit can make or break your hiring process.

Kneller carefully crafts the interview process to ensure that the candidate comes away with a solid understanding of Sweet Nothings’ culture. “We try to have them spend

considerable time with their prospective manager, and then conduct short interviews with most of the rest of the team,” he says. Meeting the whole team, rather than just one individual, gives the candidate a great sense of the culture. “We also ask candidate’s perspective on how they would approach things during the process. It’s important to demonstrate that we respect their opinion and expect a decent level of autonomy/ownership from day one.”

CONCLUSION

forefront of every decision you make. “It can be challenging to focus on building culture when you’re putting out fires every day,” says Yang. “But if you don’t get it right in the beginning, you're not going to get it right later — it's really hard to correct for that as as initial founding group. Until we built authenticity into our brand, we knew we weren’t going to get into scale mode.” Once the founder understands and clearly defines the culture that they are trying to build, notes Chaudhri, “every decision must help push the culture forward. Ruthless prioritization has to be done to protect the culture and founders must lead from the front by ensuring everyone has to be accountable. Don’t let culture be the reason you fail.”