February is always magical at UpSteam

Not only because it's Valentines Day and Estonian Independence Day but also because it's our birthday. 2020 was slightly more awesome as we had our successful Funderbeam campaign celebration at the same time.
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So far, Birthday has been for our team and we didn't invite virtually anyone from outside (with VCs, Angels, and significant others being an exception). You probably have heard about out "Family Night" culture events that we run every 4-6 weeks. They are team-centric events to bring everyone together, express gratitude, and take a moment to acknowledge how far we have come as a team (and because of a team). That's what we called our birthday party too for 3 years. It just naturally found it's way into our culture as we our founders are close friends and wanted to take time off together every now and then. 

But for this year's birthday, we did it differently

Instead of keeping the celebration only inhouse, we booked a venue, got sponsored deals and invited all our investors and advisors alongside our team. That meant sending RSVP Invites to more than 900 people. Luckily, we managed to scale the list down to 250 (which is still too damn much for a venue with capacity of 100). When hired staff (barman, photographer and dj) actually thank you for inviting not because of getting paid but because they enjoyed the event then we probably did it surprisingly well. Our goal was to sincerely thank our supporters, fans, and family but equally important to display our culture and mentality. As our Family Nights are closed events, we wanted to share with others what's it actually like in UpSteam. I think we did it well. Pictures are coming soon.

We also had a post-campaign Crowdfunding (read: lottery) at the party with a minimal investment of just 2€. You could win UpSteam Merch, gift cards and promo codes which basically ran out of. We managed to raise just over 100€ cash and a Bikeep Shirt (I won't forget Kristjan, size M).

​Disclaimer: 100% of raised amount will be used for building culture and boosting cross-team morale.

As an eco friendly company, it's only logical that we chose reed straws, wooden spoons etc. How do you like our UpSteam Special Cocktail menu?

Culture attracts A-level talent

Culture > Recruitment Campaigns. The knowledge about great culture and great people spreads like wildfire and makes your recruitment an ongoing word-of-mouth campaign. Initiate it as much as you can! But just like working with influencers shouldn't be a one night stand type of a relationship then same can be said for recruitment and building culture. Doing one awesome party or creating a relaxing corner isn't' going to cut it. Instead invest in making your team happiness and joyful continuously as they project their satisfaction to your customers. ​Culture and benefits (like that pingpong table) have become more and more important for job seekers as we are not just choosing money anymore. People want to make an impact and enjoy life while doing so which has brought those PS4s and beanbags into our modern offices. 

The relationship a company has with it's employees determines the relationship that company has with its customers. Customers will be as happy as your employees. 

The importance of culture-first mindset keeps growing as we are scaling our team like crazy (from 10 people to 50+ people in two countries within 1 year) which makes connecting teams more difficult. We hired a fun-loving ex-washer "Mr. Culture" from inside our team to keep up with the growth and building a culture which has become more present in our everyday standup meetings. ​Washer experiences makes it easier for him to understand washers today and create well-fitting culture. Actually, 60% of our HQ are ex-washers (founders excluded) and all of us can wash. 

​PS. we are hiring!
As are posting new openings to our Career Portal, it's wise to keep your eye on it and share the ad if you know a perfect fit. Currently three ads up but we are actually looking for more than that. Do you know a HR Intern, Global Launcher, or Performance Marketer that should join us?