How to develop a start-up culture to increase the growth of your company?

Traditionally, a start-up is a young, innovative and growing company, usually operating in the tech or digital sector. However,  a start-up is distinguished above all by its unique mindset that puts innovation, collective intelligence and collaborative work at the forefront. Regardless of size or sector of activity, any company can adopt a start-up culture. In fact, taking inspiration from the start-up mindset can be very beneficial to grow a business. Here, we outline how you can introduce a start-up culture in your company and boost its performance.  

Adopt a participative management style 

Above, all, the start-up culture is characterised by a participative management style that involves employees in decision-making and places everyone on an equal footing. This type of management also encourages initiative, collective intelligence, creativity and innovation. With collaborative leadership, the human being is placed at the core. Employee well-being is a priority, and the manager plays the role of a "coach", rather than a line manager: they motivate teams, create a bond of trust and foster a positive and benevolent climate. This type of management can be a real growth lever if it is applied effectively. Indeed, employees are more involved, more committed and therefore more productive. In addition, the company can greatly strengthen its competitiveness by promoting innovation on a daily basis.  

Horizontalize your organisational model 

In the start-up culture, communication in silos and the pyramidal model have no place: horizontal management must be adopted. To do this, it is necessary to:

• Establish close and transparent communication between each of the company’s departments.
• Eliminate formalism and simplify complex procedures and laborious controls.
• Adopt digital tools to make information flow more easily.

This cross-functional approach allows a company to speed up processes, make decisions more quickly and be more adaptable to change, all of which will directly contribute to accelerating  its development.  

Demonstrate innovation and agility

As previously mentioned, innovation is one of the key words in the start-up mindset. To develop such a corporate culture, innovative management methods and tools should be used. For example, an agile management approach optimises every aspect of project management and boosts team performance. Decision-making is faster, collaborative work is encouraged and flexibility and interaction are promoted. A variety of agile practices (the best known being the Scrum method) exist. To learn more about these, read our article "Five examples of agile management methods". Being agile and innovative can also enable a company to seize opportunities quickly, develop a risk culture, and better manage crises and changes.  

Create a strong and meaningful vision

Companies with a start-up mindset are all driven by a strong and meaningful vision, which guides every action and decision on a daily basis. The founder instils an inspiring vision in teams and is the bearer of a strong, clear and engaging message. Managers, for their part, must ensure that this vision and the company’s values are conveyed to employees with enthusiasm and conviction. This is a key element to ensure employee buy-in and generate a sense of belonging and pride. This, in turn, will have a direct impact on employee motivation and operational efficiency, and ultimately on a company's growth.  

Create a friendly work environment

The start-up culture is also reflected in a company's premises. Workspaces are designed to promote well-being and to simplify exchanges: the open space is therefore de rigueur. Additional spaces (coffee corners, relaxation areas, etc.) are also welcome. Indeed, the whole must be designed to encourage dialogue, break codes, facilitate team cohesion and create a climate of trust. Teambuilding activities and corporate events (seminars, after work, sports events, cultural activities, etc.) can also help encourage team cohesion and foster collective intelligence.