It’s been 2.5 years since Fond made its beginnings in a Taco Bell parking lot. Fond graduated from the Y Combinator program in March 2012 and was the first Japanese company to ever do so. When some of us joined the company a year ago, it was a team of five hustling from a cramped office in Union Square. Today, we’re pushing fifty employees and not planning on stepping on the brakes, which means our company values are evolving as well.
So who are we today?
About six months ago, we presented the first version of our mission, which was “to delight your employees.” We’ve grown quickly since then, and wanted to revisit our mission statement to ensure it continues to reflect what are we trying to achieve. We didn’t want to re-write it per se—a mission statement should be a solid foundation—but we felt it was time to build on it as we entered a new phase of rapid growth.
Ultimately, creating a positive working culture begins with the company. It stems from a company’s ability to communicate its vision to its employees and support employees in achieving their goals, whether that means professional development or mental and physical wellness. At Fond, we can’t promise to single-handedly transform your company’s corporate culture to that of Google and Facebook. But, we can help you get there.
So Fond’s new mission statement is: “to build places where employees love to work.”
The reason why is just as critical. Why is our mission important? Does it really matter? We concluded: because happy employees are vital to the health and success of every organization.
Employees are brand champions who represent the company outside of the office. They are the ones with the innovative ideas and the drive to make those ideas real. Even at Fond, we constantly strive to understand what innately makes our employees tick.
But we also recognized the need for guiding principles in support of our mission statement. For about a month, all members of the Fond team provided input on what unique values ties us together. That input, combined with our founders’ reflections on what kind of company they want to build, led us to our core values.
We identified three values that tie us together as a team.
Fond’s Company Values
- Own the results. We want to walk the path of continual improvement. When we achieve something, we celebrate, and always look for the next level or professional growth.
- Build trust like a family. We believe that to succeed we have to build and maintain trust like a family.
- Be delightfully quirky. It’s what we do, so we strive to delight our customers, partners, and each other.
We aim to make every company a pleasure to work at. Our team has learned first-hand what it takes to maintain a rewarding culture during rapid growth. We believe we’re now in a stronger position to create a world of happier workforces.
If you believe in our mission, join our team! Be at the forefront of delighting employees nationwide.