Why these values, not other ones
Most startup values pages read like a wish list — "We are customer obsessed. We move fast. We do the right thing." Those are table stakes. The values below are what we actually fire people for and what we actually promote people on. They were drafted in 2023 by the four founding members after three months of disagreement and one terrible Q4. We re-read them together every six months and rewrite anything that has drifted.
We do not enforce values through posters, swag, or all-hands chants. We enforce them through decisions: which customers we keep, which we let go, who gets the next promotion, and which vendors we drop. The next time you read a values page that promises a great culture, look at the actual customer reviews and the actual employee exits — those tell you what the values really are.