This is something that I have been thinking a lot about lately. I am in the process of building a company, and I want to build a great one at that. And I am going to be honest. I am clueless on how to go about it, technically.
So, the approach that I am taking is to build a company that I want to get up and come to work everyday. And the hope is what works for me would be at least good enough for the others as well. And if there is a disjoint on that front, I will have to tackle it as things pop up.
So what would be the things that would work for me?
- I want to have a great pay
This is something that everyone wants, I guess. After a certain point in life and career pay may no longer entice you, and if the company is a crap hole it isn't going to hold people together as well. But a decent pay is a basic necessity. And I think we are doing more than good on this front. We have set salary scales but it seems they are above the market rates. And I know this for a fact from what people ask for, in terms of a salary at interviews. We've so far managed to exceed their expectations.
This one is really important and it is why it matters to see if your new hires are a cultural fit to your organization. But still it is something that you cannot scientifically quantify still. People need to click. And they need to be able to put up with one another. And if there are frictions among team members, then it is going to effect the work of that team most and then the whole company as a whole. So we are paying great attention to figure out the cultural fit of new employees.
- I want to work in a great office
If I were working for a company, I want to work in a great office with a great atmosphere. I used to work in a place which was a bit of a drag. The place was not modernized for a while and the furniture and the equipment was ancient. The sad part is, the place could have been livened up with a bit of fresh paint and few tweaks but the way that company was run, it was hard to make any suggestions for improvements. I got tired of the place very fast and it was a drag to get my self off the bed to get to work. I don't want to run a office like that. So the office atmosphere, the look and the feel, the creature comforts are high on my list. We are getting them fast developer rigs and at some point will get them all dual monitors.
Improving the facilities in the office is high on our agenda. We want to spend, even our whole profit in improving the facilities. We serve lunch on the house. Right now we are fetching it from a nearby place, but as we grow, we will look into getting a caterer serve a gourmet meal in house.
And I am a big fan of spaces with natural lighting. And luckily the new office of ours is in placed with windows on East and West. So at all times through out the day we have plenty of natural light. And the we also have enough space, even more than we need right now. So we are in an airy, well lit up office.
- I want to work with latest technologies
Keeping themselves up to date with the evolving technology space is foremost in any software engineers mind. The last thing anyone wants to do is to get stuck with a project that is not getting upgraded to a new technology. But we are in luck. We have a very few projects that we are stuck with maintaining and even those few, the project owners are extremely flexible to proposals of upgrades.
We get enough new projects, which we always do on the latest technology available, to keep everyone on the edges of their learning curves. As a policy, we would always do any new project with the latest technology stack available. It is usually up to us to propose the technology stack and architecture on a new project.
- I want to have a great boss.
This one is directly on me. I read a saying which read: "people join companies and leave their bosses". And I don't want the reason for a persons leaving to be - ME. And I've personally had some great ones and actually ones that I left, the sole reason being the boss. So I have a pretty good idea of what a good boss should be like. And since this time around, I am my own boss and I have a owners stake in what I am building, I have all the more reasons to be a good boss.
Of course you can be 'liked' but not be effective from the point of view of the company. So the trick is to be a good boss in all fronts. That is what I am striving to be.
Conclusion
The above were things that I came up with on the top of my head. I think creating a great company is an on going process. And I would like to see the company outlast me. Culture is of paramount importance in this aspect. This is something I hope to write about in the future.
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