In the absence of intentional culture, toxic culture will emerge. Smart VCs know this, which is why they're making cultural due diligence as critical as product-market fit when evaluating investments at every stage.

Next Big Thing guided underrepresented founders through our Culture Catalyst program, reinforcing the power of intentional culture-building in early-stage startups. Here are our takeaways from the 2024 program!

Next Big Thing’s Culture Catalyst workshop series takes early-stage startup founders through the essential elements of purposefully designing and nurturing a competitive, healthy workplace culture from the ground up.

At its core, radical transparency aligns with foundational values like authenticity, truth-seeking, and empowering people. By pulling back the curtains, founders create an environment of trust, vulnerability, and shared accountability for successes and failures.

Some of the documented benefits include: Increased trust & engagement when employees feel brought behind the scenes. Better aligned decision-making with information spread across levels. An uptick in ideas and solutions as processes are exposed.

Cultivating psychological safety is key for founders to build values-driven, innovative company cultures. Here’s what psychological safety is, why it's important, and how founders can nurture it.