We decided early on that we should start laying out the principles that we work by. There have been various edits over the years as this document was first created when we first started to feel PMF (after product launch #276) in June 2021. It is a living document that adapts as we learn and grow. The latest update was September 02, 2024.
Our values are the foundation of everything we do. While this document outlines how we intend to act, the real test is daily (I.e ”culture is what you do when nobody is looking”). We constantly question whether we’re living up to these principles and make adjustments when we’re not.
Picasso famously said “good artists copy, great artists steal”. In that spirit, much of the below has been stolen from our favorite leaders and companies.
Whether you’re joining us for the first time or have been with us from the start, we hope building and growing at Laylo feels like the culture we lay out below.
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In a meritocracy, the best ideas rise to the top. This is not a democracy but what it does mean is that everyone can speak up and earn the final decision. The point is that we trust each other’s expertise and respect that we are smarter than each other in specific areas (which is exactly what we want). As long as we support open dialogue, but ensure that ideas rise based on merit, not hierarchy, we will be in the best position to succeed, together.
We borrowed this concept from Ray Dalio who’s done a decent job implementing them (his company is the world’s largest and most successful private hedge fund). Ray breaks down the factors that lead to an idea meritocracy with 3 key elements. Here’s Ray:
“You have to make a choice: Do you want to be stuck with your opinion, or go above it all? It’s an out-of-body experience…Put your honest thoughts out on the table. Have thoughtful disagreements in which people are willing to shift their opinions as they learn. Have agreed-upon ways of deciding if disagreements remain so that you can move beyond them without resentments. And to do this well, you need to be radically truthful and radically transparent, by which I mean you need to allow people to see and say almost anything.
We get shit done on time and with polish.