Remix Series 06: Story of a Brand (Part 2)

REMIX SERIES 06: STORY OF A BRAND
Part 2

Welcome back!

SPOILER ALERT: If you haven’t listened to Part One of the Story of a Brand x goodr REMIX episode, you will still be able to follow along without any issues and glean valuable insights into the company culture at goodr. But you’ll be sad. Because you missed out on listening to part one. Pssst… it’s right here.

THE EPISODE IN A VERY SMALL NUTSHELL:
Moral of this REMIX episode is that the larger and more successful you get, the harder it is to retain all of those special qualities and quirks that make up your brand’s culture. When you’re working as a small cog in the soul-sucking Mega-Corp, it’s easy to think, “Pshhhh when I start MY OWN company, there’s NO WAY we’re going to do this.” But then when that little start-up gets to be a certain size and decisions have to be made to accommodate a larger staff, that’s when it’s time to put all that moolah where your mouth is. Some of the top items on Stephen Lease’s list when he decided to leave Mega-Corp in the dust included unlimited vacation; only working two days per week in the office; and a pay raise system that was not only based on individual successes, but dictated by the very employee getting the raise. Sounds utopic, no? And also a bit familiar. There are a suspicious number of jobs out there that claim teleworking flexibility, unlimited vacation, discounts and perks, and toilets that shoot rainbows up your bum. But they can’t ALL be telling the truth. At goodr, those things are actually the case. Minus the rainbows up the bum thing. That’s still in R&D.

A big part of maintaining the essence and purity of the culture throughout growth is also making sure it’s all congruent. We’ve created our own operating system goodr.OS (currently at version Flamingo 4.0). This includes an elaborate onboarding process that tracks over three months and seven phases, an enneagram test every employee takes, a weekly all staff meeting, etc. Even our presentation decks are highly thematic with fun templated slides and our bright brand colors. This operating system for our culture also plays a huge role in our naming process for our products, which, let’s be honest, is a huge part of our thing. Who hasn’t bought a pair of goodrs just because their name tickled you silly? Well, our culture of authenticity is a good reminder to not let our size make us more boring. Would we have named that pair this way three years ago? If so, let ‘er rip! See? Congruence. It’s all about message repeat. Message received? Yes? Good. Message repeated.

Ultimately, SDL offers this key takeaway for budding entrepreneurs: Don’t quit your day job. Unless you’re independently wealthy. Just start it as a side hustle. Because if you need to make money right away to make rent, you start making bad decisions. And if you don’t love your idea enough to work on it nights and weekends, why would you ever want to wake up and work on it day in and day out?

CLASSIC SDL mic drop…

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This episode of CULTURE goodr REMIX series was provided by the Story of a Brand Podcast.