Young, Scrappy, and Hungry: Building a Culture of Founders

tl;dr I’m hiring a Senior Data Analyst.

Last month, I was fortunate enough to nab a last-minute ticket to see Hamilton the Musical in New York. As I sat there watching Lin-Manuel Miranda drop rhymes so fast it made my head spin, I realized that working at a startup has a lot in common with the founding of America (with slightly fewer bayonets). The show emphasizes how Alexander Hamilton and the founding fathers needed to be “young, scrappy, and hungry” in order to succeed in building a new country from rocky beginnings.

Startups often have their own challenging beginnings. But if you’re like me and willing to bring your own ambition, resourcefulness and a liberal dose of (questionable) humor, startups are an exciting challenge. I was brought in as the founding member (founding mother? Hah!) of the AnyPerk Data Team. And while I wasn’t exactly unifying and liberating 13 colonies, I did have the opportunity to build something from the ground up. As a member of a small startup, I get opportunities to own projects that will end up having a huge impact in the business as it grows. It is both terrifying and crazy fun!

I spent much of my first year at AnyPerk listening to and working with every single team at the company, from Customer Success to Finance, in an attempt to understand their challenges and data needs. That exposure helped grow my analyst skills and trained me to think about my approach to data from a variety of perspectives, anticipating others’ needs before they arrived. With that knowledge, I was able to build out our data capabilities from the basics to a reasonably solid foundation that allowed the company to make data-driven decisions.

I love the process of driving change, and I feel that same revolutionary spirit is echoed across our company. In fact, we have three core values at AnyPerk that mirror “young, scrappy, and hungry,” and I believe these values have allowed us to build a strong company culture that can thrive.

Build Trust Like a Family: “We will love you even when you don’t know the answer.”

We encourage one another to be vulnerable, which clears the way to ask for help when you need it. One of my most frequently uttered phrases at work is “I don’t know…yet.” While many organizations might frown on that response, at AnyPerk it’s actually a sign of strength. We understand that it’s impossible to know everything and we make our office a safe place to admit when you don’t have all the answers. There is no sense in bullshitting things for the sake of looking brilliant. Through listening and asking the right questions, we’ll figure it out together.

Own the Result: “How can I leave it better for the next generation?”

Because AnyPerk is a small organization there are still plenty of opportunities to show off and take ownership over projects — whether it be building out the data framework or cleaning up the office after a long week. We recognize efforts on many levels and use our own Rewards product to give a virtual high-five. By owning the result, you do what you can to make it better for everyone at the company.

Be Delightfully Quirky: “Let’s take this stressful situation down a notch, shall we?”

Building and growing a company is some serious business. Occasionally shit gets real and we’ll see things we cannot unsee. But with the right company culture, it can also be a hell of a lot of fun! When things get stressful, my preferred method to diffuse the situation is to inundate those nearby with terrible, groan worthy puns. Others on the team might send the perfectly curated gif or hand you a much needed adult beverage.

The Hard Sell:

So in the wise words of Lin-Manuel Miranda, “Don’t throw away your shot.” Come join our team! We’re a happy bunch of delightful nerds that are trying to make happiness more accessible for other employees. I’m looking for a Senior Data Analyst that has “seen things” and won’t be afraid to point out where my original plan went awry. I want someone that will come in and own our event collection process while balancing the needs of the Product and Engineering teams. And if you’re not a data nerd, we’re also looking for more folks to add to our crackerjack team of engineers, marketers, and sales folks!