How to Maintain Company Culture While Undergoing Expansion in Startup Tech Companies

Maintaining a strong company culture in a startup tech company undergoing rapid expansion can be difficult, but it is possible to maintain a positive atmosphere even when faced with fast growth.

Many startup tech companies start out with strong cultural momentum, attempting to build a company that breaks the norms of traditional large-scale corporations. Workers are often encouraged to dress casually, address each other informally, and be creative and expressive in the work environment. The idea is, the more creative and free your workers are, the more likely they are to create and present unique, new ideas that could advance the company’s main products and services.

Unfortunately, many companies lose that free-thinking momentum as they start to expand. The more revenue a company sees, the more complex its processes it becomes, and the more bureaucratic it becomes. Some of that transition is unavoidable; after all, you need firm processes and formal systems in place in order to achieve your greatest efficiency as a company. But at the same time, losing your “startup culture” could turn your business into a slow-moving, inflexible giant.

So how can you maintain a positive, enthusiastic culture while still establishing the formalities that larger businesses require?

Maintain culture-based hiring practices. When you first start out, you look for good culture fits as much as you look for good talent fits. There’s no reason to do away with that. Even if you develop a human resources department, keep a habit of hiring only people who fit with your culture.
Incentivize your employees. Build in rewards and opportunities for your employees that encourage hard work and leadership. This is an important implementation for your new employees especially.
Encourage new ideas at every level. Allow everyone within the organization to present their own unique ideas, even as you grow larger. You never know when or how the next great idea for your company will come.

Even if you implement major structural changes to your business, you can maintain an atmosphere of creative thinking and ingenuity in your tech company.

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About the Author

Jose Vasquez is a serial entrepreneur and tech specialist dedicated to helping startup tech companies grow and succeed. As the founder of Build. Brand. Blast., Jose has worked with dozens of enterprises to find direction, gain momentum, and achieve results.