Company Culture: What Great Looks Like

Thanxful for our amazing team!

I’m a Marine veteran turned startup builder. I’ve been scaling companies from the minute my contract ended with the military — and my #1 focus is on hiring elite talent. Currently, as Head of Talent with Thanx, I’ve helped us more than double headcount over the past year while adding a second office in Denver, CO. From the first recruiting call with Thanx, I heard something special. What Sam Parker (COO) described to me was a company that cared about its employees personally and executives aligned around finding the absolute best talent. Since joining Thanx, I’ve had a front-row seat in watching the development of a people-first company — and humbly, I think I’ve played a key role in solidifying that focus. That’s what this story is about; not just how special Thanx is, but more broadly, how to build and maintain an amazing company culture that starts with the people.

We all have an idea of what a great company looks like but never have I been part of an organization that is doing all the right things. Don’t get me wrong — we’re an early stage startup and certainly, haven’t figured it all out. However, if you’ve ever read “Good to Great,” “The Hard Thing About Hard Things,” “Superbosses” or listened to the “How I Built This” podcast (all my favorites) you understand what it takes. There’s one secret weapon for all successful companies; it begins (and ends) with hiring the absolute best talent. High performers don’t need micromanagement; they need like-minded individuals, autonomy, constant challenges, and a management team that will remove roadblocks. At startups, success starts with the founder(s) and is echoed, amplified, or dampened by executives, hiring managers and the recruiting/talent team.

Some of the mistakes I’ve seen companies suffer through when it comes to recruiting and talent:

• Many talent organizations succumb to pressure from hiring managers to fill roles quickly. Even the best hiring managers make sacrifices when desperate to fill a role. Your talent team (and CEO) is the final check to make sure you never sacrifice, no matter how urgent the hire is. Interviews are massively important but references are the secret weapon. It’s important to dig deep and find a reason not to hire vs fact checking or a high-level thumbs up from a reference.
• Companies oversell an opportunity or promise outcomes that aren’t realistic. Hiring teams need to understand that being completely transparent and honest and allowing a candidate to self-select the challenges and potential success of a role is necessary for long-term success (and candidates should make sure they understand the challenges to come instead of having “happy ears” for all the good things).
• Executives talk the talk but do not walk the walk. How many times have you heard, “We value open and honest communication” only to join and find the complete opposite? It’s actually OK if you’re a ridiculously hard-driving organization or if your culture is tons of fun and not as focused — but miscommunication can only get you mismatched expectations which result in short tenures. It’s a bad sign when a CEO, for instance, wants people to arrive early and stay late but isn’t the first in and last out.
• Micro-management is death to most high-performing hires. Imagine winning the brutal war for top talent only to cut them off at the ankles. If you have the right people in place, you don’t need as many checks and balances and you certainly don’t need to dictate their day-to-day — nothing drives an “A” away sooner. If you want to retain them: lead, train, and mentor.

Moreover, the actions that differentiate an inclusive people-first company (like we have built at Thanx):

• Great companies prioritize hiring the absolute best talent — at all costs. Right now, we desperately need a Senior Product designer — we’ve rejected absolute stars because they weren’t culture adds or overselling their experience. Last quarter we were 50% behind on engineer hiring but passed on candidates who were optimizing for the highest possible salary vs fit — we want employees who believe in our vision and their ability to personally “kink the curve.” A mercenary — no matter how impressive — is not someone for Thanx. To further drive the impact of hiring the best talent a study by the Boston Consulting Group found that “companies adept at recruiting enjoyed 3.5x revenue growth and 2x profit margin of their less capable peers.”
• With a solid group of top performers in place, reward their excellence and create a culture of promotion. Companies that are genuinely seeking stars are often too slow to advance the ones they already have. At Thanx, we have individuals repeatedly setting the record for “earliest to a first booked deal” — each sooner than the last — and we have entry-level employees promoted twice in their first 18 months. Are we sure they are up to the task? No. But have they earned the shot? Absolutely. Most prove they deserved the opportunity and even when it doesn’t work out, a culture of promotion and opportunity is precisely what A+ contributors are looking for.
• Leadership by example. Do as I do, and as I say. Everybody on the team needs to buy in, but most importantly, leaders need to be selfless and consistent in his or her delivery — even in the face of adversity. The vast majority of employees don’t report directly to the CEO. Our CEO cares deeply, hosting “office hours” every week and answering anonymous Q&A at all-hands, but he too would admit that middle managers have far more impact on the success and happiness of employees than he’s allowed.

I feel fortunate to have found a company where we truly value our people and fight to build a great career destination for talent. Without this solid foundation, Thanx, as it stands today, wouldn’t be possible. You’re probably saying “yeah right, you’re biased.” I am. However, I have worked in many different environments and interviewed tens of thousands of candidates. From Bootcamp and deployment overseas to big corporations and the earliest stage startup; from high-intensity sales to world-class data scientists, I have hired them all and learned about how culture is built. Beyond my own experiences, I’ve heard the worst and best about companies from the countless candidates I speak with every day.

It takes a strong vision and values to keep a company on track. In my interview with our Founder and CEO (Zach), I (half) joked that I would only join a company with core values I believed in. He responded quickly, claiming they were near completion. Initially, I assumed he was blowing me off, but as he explained with such conviction what made “Thanxers” unique, I knew it was something Zach and his executive team had thought through extensively. When I joined two weeks later, there were four clear and concise “Core Behaviors” specifying how we expect our employees to actually behave every day, not just stand for what they “value.” They reflected who Zach is as a founder (all startup cultures start by mirroring the values of their founders) and directly mapped to what makes Thanx special. The Core Behaviors aren’t aspirational; they were already woven into the company and that first wave of influential employees. Moreover, a big reason for that direct correlation was that every employee played a part in creating them. These are the Core Behaviors we live at Thanx:

Embrace Diverse Perspectives

Unique life and work experiences yield the best solutions. We celebrate opinions from everyone, especially when differing — but mutual respect is non-negotiable.

Focus On What Matters

For our merchants, it’s data-driven results. For our users, it’s a delightful experience. And for our office, it’s brilliant people over glitzy perks. Our team should always know why their work addresses a “number one priority” and to whom it matters.

Make It Happen

There is no room for fear of failure and no time to wait for instructions — when you see a problem or opportunity, take action. We encourage risk-taking out of our comfort zone but are always willing to seek guidance when we start to lose our way.

Say Thanx Generously

Gratitude creates happiness. We see appreciation as the cornerstone of trust, caring, and collaboration — among Thanx employees and between merchants and their customers.

For me, these behaviors are anchored in mutual respect, prioritization, grit, and gratitude. However, they give you enough room to interpret and live them in your way. Great cultures not only identify and live by their values but create systems to reinforce them as employees leave and new teammates join. It has to be more than just “posting them on the wall” — here are some of the things we’ve done to make sure the Core Behaviors are lived every day:

We say “Thanx” to each other at every all-hands meeting. Yes, as corny as that sounds, individual employees stand up and “live our Core Behaviors” by recognizing their peers. Many companies value transparency and trust, but few invest in the foundation of positivity and recognition that are fundamental to sustain such honest (and often critical) feedback. These “Thanxes” are also broadcast throughout the organization on TVs (in both offices… even once all the lights are turned off), so we are always reminded of the hard work and gratitude that drives us forward every day.

Leading by example is recognized and rewarded. Yes, our Core Behaviors are indeed posted on the wall, but we found a way to collaboratively reinforce them. Enter “+1s” — customized poker chips that are given out to personally recognize any exceptional demonstration of our Core Behaviors and which can be earned exclusively through the recognition of peers and managers. Quarterly prizes are awarded:

• The “Embrace Diverse Perspectives” leader earns a trip to visit our Denver office to connect with more perspectives.
• The “Focus on What Matters” leader earns the ability to identify a benefit that would meaningfully improve the experience in your office and then they execute on that benefit.
• The “Make It Happen” leader earns a chance to design new special edition SWAG that all employees can redeem with their +1 chips.
• The “Say Thanx Generously” leader is permanently enshrined on a plaque in both offices.

I have numerous examples of the greatness that is Thanx and how our “Core Behaviors” have come to life, but most recently I had a family emergency in which I needed to travel from the West Coast to the East Coast. I explained the situation to my boss and without skipping a beat, he said, “Yes, absolutely. Don’t worry we have you covered; do what you need to do and take the time necessary.” I bought a ticket the minute after and was on my way that night. This level of “I have your back” happens all the time here. In a hard-working environment, I’ve never felt pressured to work when life happens. The whole team regularly has to be reminded to stay home when sick because we’re often happier working — but when “life happens,” none of us doubt that our team is there to “Focus on What Matters” (families) and “Make It Happen.” In exchange, I have learned never to hesitate to “Say Thanx Generously.” Thanx is the first company where I’ve gone on vacation and fully recharged without checking my work email… not even once. Rarely do companies think about raising the bar when it comes to their people, but here it is a number one priority.

Our “Core Behaviors” were created and launched just over one year ago when Thanx was more than half the size. In true Thanx fashion we are “Embracing Diverse Perspectives” and currently revisiting them as a company where every employee, again, has input to help evolve our values.

Studies like the one run by BCG referenced above — and most notably “Good to Great” by Jim Collins (they found 1,435 good companies, examined their performance over 40 years and discovered the 11 companies that became great) have proven that those who prioritize people are wildly successful compared to those that don’t. When talent is prioritized, revenue goes up; a win-win for both the company and the employee.

As an employee, if you’re starting to believe there is a better opportunity out there… you’re certainly right! Thanx was my a-ha moment; find yours! Don’t stop looking for that perfect position because it exists if you’re willing to find it, be patient and picky. For those lucky enough to already have a job with great leaders and at a company with a people-first culture… CONGRATS. Don’t rest — as companies grow, culture is set as much by every subsequent employee as it was by the founders. It becomes your responsibility to embrace it and ask yourself “how do I get involved” in nurturing what we do well and correcting what we can improve. What I’ve had the pleasure of helping build, alongside some of the most caring and intelligent leaders I’ve worked with, has been an eye-opening experience and one I pledge to emulate in any future venture I pursue.

Oh… and as Head of Talent, I would kick myself if I didn’t pitch our open positions. If you want to join Thanx on our journey, we are hiring! Whether you see an open role on our site that fits your skills or not, at Thanx, we’re ready to interview anyone who manifests our Core Behaviors. If that’s the case, Thanx could be the right home for you.