If it’s past 9 a.m. on a weekday and you don’t see Alan Ni on Slack, it’s probably because Grow Therapy’s CTO is sleeping. Or meditating. Or going on a run. Or reading a book over coffee. Whatever it is, no need to bother him.
That’s because he’s taking advantage of his company’s mental health morning program. Once a week, all employees are encouraged to take a few extra hours in the morning to focus on their health.
“Whatever you need to feel recharged and rejuvenated,” Ni said.
The program is a favorite for Grow Therapy’s employees, and a crucial part of its culture as the company continues to scale. That in itself is a common tightrope many companies walk when they’re rapidly growing: How do you preserve and grow company culture at the same time?
Dataminr for example is prioritizing diversity, equity and inclusion efforts after they saw their headcount increase by 42% in 2021.
“We currently have nine employee resource groups and plan to launch more in 2022 to expand the ways in which we support our growing team,” Whitney Benner, Dataminr’s chief people officer, said.
Preserving company culture takes many forms. That’s why Built In NYC sat down with four companies to learn more about how they’re scaling and evolving their culture as their headcount grows.
What they do: Order is a SaaS fintech organization transforming the purchase and pay processes of businesses across a broad array of industries including fitness, retail, hospitality, cannabis and healthcare.
Tell us about the growth Order has been experiencing recently.
At the beginning of 2021, we were a team of 55. A year later, we've doubled in size and are planning to continue that trajectory throughout 2022. I expect we'll have about 200 team members at this time next year.
We’re bringing on new customers faster than ever, and we’ll be investing heavily in tech innovation this year to support that growth. Product, engineering, operations and our go-to-market teams (sales, account management, and marketing) will be accelerating quickest to meet the needs of our growing client base.
How would you describe your company culture?
Our North Star value, "Mahalo", has everything to do with being a good person and leading with gratitude. That value informs not only the culture we have fostered here and the expectations we have for our team, but also how we operate our business. And I believe this has contributed a lot to our success. The reason is simple: “Mahalo” forces you to care about what you are doing, care about the customers, and care about your team. Nothing beats working with people who care.
We are also a team that lives on lore. We never miss an opportunity to commit-to-the-bit.’’
What are you doing to keep company culture strong through this period of rapid growth?
As we've grown, we’ve ensured that value alignment is part of our interview process. Our goal is to build a team with incredibly diverse backgrounds, but who all share and appreciate a set of core principles.
We are also a team that lives on lore. We never miss an opportunity to commit-to-the-bit. Our team events reflect this as well, from golf outings with custom winners jackets and awards dinners, to our quarterly Codenames tournament and a long-standing karaoke tradition. And don't even get me started on the origin story of our Mahalo trophy!
What they do: Dataminr is a company that specializes in artificial intelligence to provide real-time information alerts to clients.
Tell us about the growth Dataminr has been experiencing recently.
Dataminr has had tremendous growth this year. In fact, in 2021 alone we grew our headcount by over 42%. A lot of those hires were across the engineering and sales teams. And we're not slowing down! As we expand into new markets and continue to grow our product's capabilities, we expect to have even more significant growth in 2022.
Attracting and retaining top talent across teams and offices is critical for our continued success. We’re focused on nurturing inclusivity to support our fast-growing, diverse workforce. At Dataminr, the culture is one where everyone –– regardless of race, gender, neurodivergence and/or sexuality –– is empowered to realize their full potential and be rewarded for their significant contributions.
How would you describe your company culture?
The culture at Dataminr can be best described through our internal values, which include taking ownership, finding better ways, driving results, and bringing others along. Our employees truly embody these values in the way we collaborate, problem solve, exceed team and business goals, and invest in and support each other.
I think most, if not all, corporate cultures went through a litmus test in 2020 when organizations had to suddenly transition to remote working in light of the pandemic. At Dataminr, we had to find a better way to drive results and bring others along. Our significant growth and retention during that time is a proofpoint of our internal values and positive culture.
We continue to invest in our values, and deepen our commitment to AI for good.’’
We have many employees who have been here since day one and attest their commitment to the impact that Dataminr’s real-time data has in crisis response and humanitarian aid. From 2009 to now, that commitment has deepened and anchored us in the work we do every day. As such, we enjoy a strong level of connection across our employee base because we continue to invest in our values, and deepen our commitment to AI for good.
What are you doing to keep company culture strong through this period of rapid growth?
Based on continuous feedback we receive from our employees, we invested in forging a more connected company culture with comprehensive diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. We consciously weave DEI into our business strategy to ensure that every employee feels accepted, valued and has a sense of belonging. We currently have nine employee resource groups and plan to launch more in 2022 to expand the ways in which we support our growing team.
Additionally, we’ve enhanced our employee benefits with more inclusive offerings. This included a comprehensive fertility program that provides equal access to fertility care regardless of gender, sexual orientation, fertility diagnosis or geographic location.
What they do: Grow Therapy is transforming mental healthcare accessibility by helping therapists launch tech-driven, in-network practices
Tell us about the growth Grow Therapy has been experiencing recently.
Since its founding at the start of the pandemic, Grow Therapy has been growing quicker than even our ambitious targets. With just our initial team of 10, we built our technology minimum viable product from scratch, recruited our first providers in Florida, and helped a few hundred clients book therapy in-network with insurance. After raising our $15M Series A in September 2021, we were able to expand our team to 25 and see exponential growth across the company. We expanded to several new states, quadrupled our provider network, made significant upgrades to our technology infrastructure, and reached even more clients in need of affordable mental healthcare.
With revenue doubling month over month, we’re continuing to foster our growth trajectory by tripling our team in the next year, particularly in the engineering, design and product department.
How would you describe your company culture?
As a mental health company, fostering a culture that prioritizes and promotes wellness has been a priority from day one. It’s been critical to promote and celebrate a sustainable work-life balance. We do this by having mental health mornings, unlimited PTO (with 15 days minimum), team-wide meditation, wellness stipends, team lunches to unplug and socialize and Slack hygiene. In addition to prioritizing mental health, we do a lot to promote collaboration and a flat hierarchy. Our culture has remained collaborative through growth. We have a live ideas board where anyone can submit and brainstorm ideas across the business and have candid discussions in our town halls every week.
As a mental health company, fostering a culture that prioritizes and promotes wellness has been a priority from day one.’’
What are you doing to keep company culture strong through this period of rapid growth?
To promote a welcoming and inclusive culture, we give each new hire onboarding buddies in departments they wouldn’t normally interact with. We also have a Lunch & Learn series for employees to share their hobbies and interests outside of work in an informal setting. Our team has a lot of fun throwing events, too. For example, our affinity group “Women of Grow” went on an apple picking retreat in upstate New York.
What they do: Nayya is a healthtech company that is reinventing the way that consumers choose and use their benefits through personalization.
Tell us about the growth Nayya has been experiencing recently.
Our team has grown from less than 10 in 2020 to more than 80 Nayyans this year. We’ve expanded our team across every area of the business including sales, marketing, engineering, customer success, product and infrastructure, and we expect to continue to grow our teams meaningfully in 2022. We’ll continue to add strong talent to our go-to-market teams and expand our engineering squads to complement the growth of our products. As we add new Nayyans to our team, we look for candidates who bring a diverse perspective and who are deeply passionate about solving challenging problems.
How would you describe your company culture?
Our Nayya values shape our culture. Our team remains cross-functional — understanding our mission from multiple lenses is key. Early on, we communicated informally often. Today, our onboarding process and forthcoming Nayya U ensure that every Nayyan knows where we’ve come from to appreciate where we’re headed. We foster a community that makes new hires feel welcomed and supported during onboarding and beyond.
We use all-hands and all-team meetings to provide visibility into progress toward our mission.’’
What are you doing to keep company culture strong through this period of rapid growth?
We use all-hands and all-team meetings to provide visibility into progress toward our mission. We also use these forums to welcome new Nayyans. New hire training and leadership coaching programs ensure that Nayyans at different points in their career journey are supported in achieving their goals. During monthly “community days,” members of our extended Nayya community share diverse perspectives on topics like career growth, the industry and technology. Celebrating birthdays, commercial wins, virtual lunches and team happy hours also ensure we build personal connections that strengthen our success as a team.
