Retaining the Essence of a Startup

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The essence of a startup lies in its 'soul', which transcends culture, purpose, or even the founder. This soul comprises strategic business intent, a strong connection to customers, and a stellar employee experience. Retaining these elements while scaling is crucial to preserving what makes a company special. By defining the specific problem the company solves and incorporating customer feedback, organizations can ensure that employees remain connected to the customers as the business grows.

So, you’ve successfully scaled your start-up and you’re growing into a mature company. What, if anything, should you retain from those early days?

Harvard Business School professor Ranjay Gulati says the most successful organizations have one thing in common: a soul. “Soul” goes beyond culture, purpose, or even the founder. It’s about having three things: strategic business intent, a strong connection to customers, and a stellar employee experience. Gulati argues that if you don’t preserve these elements as you scale, you’ll lose what makes your company special.

In this episode, he explains how to define the specific problem your company solves, with plenty of real-world examples from Netflix, Apple, and Warby Parker. You’ll also learn how to bring the voice of customers into your organization and ensure that your employees feel connected to them.

Key episode topics include: strategy, entrepreneurship, organizational culture, start-up, scaling.

HBR On Strategy curates the best case studies and conversations with the world’s top business and management experts, to help you unlock new ways of doing business. New episodes every week.

· Listen to the full HBR IdeaCast episode: Finding (and Keeping) Your Company’s Soul (2019)

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