Hello!
Congratulations on embarking on a new journey with us at Comini. It should be fun and exciting. We hope you'll enjoy your work, the time you spend with us, and have a whole lot of opportunities to learn and grow!
As a startup our culture is always in flux, but these are some core principles we try to follow. Please take some time to read this document and reflect.
1) Our goal is to enable meaningfully personalized, playful learning for the early years.
At the very core of what we do is enabling learning, both offline and online. We believe that learning can be playful because play is how we learn about the many games of our lives. A playful approach makes it fun and interesting. This is true for our work as well. Whatever your role, please remember that a playful approach is what we are building, and also trying to embody. Each of these words – playful, meaningful, personalized, learning – have layers of meaning to them. How can we make sure that a playful approach to a particular learning activity in reading is also meaningful? How do we know it isn’t just fun, but allowing for deeper learning? Our job is to continuously learn, and help unpack what these words mean.
2) Aim for excellence and autonomy
We are not looking to do work that is merely “good enough.” We believe in continuous learning and growth. We want to keep asking ourselves - How can we make this better? How do we keep learning? We fully expect you to be able to take a requirement, and really take ownership of it without needing too much guidance or hand-holding. That is the way for us to keep adding to excellence in output without being bogged down by unnecessary bureaucracy. That might take some getting used to, but that’s where we want to be.
3) We should be output driven
We don't measure how many hours you are at the office. What matters is whether the work gets done. We are reasonably flexible with hours. Currently, we operate around a 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM work cycle. Some things you work on will require more hours and effort, sometimes intense, and some won't. There may be a fair bit to pick up in your early days. You will likely need to put in more time, and that will pay dividends later.
Figure out what works best to track your productivity and growth. We are all here because we want to work on something interesting and meaningful, and learn and grow while doing it. We cannot guarantee success, but we can guarantee growth. Let’s make sure that happens.
4) Communicate!
This is not about one-way traffic where a manager or a senior tells you what needs to be done and you silently follow through. Communicate. Please ask questions. Please push back. It is fine if you disagree with something, and sometimes you will work on something where you may not entirely agree with the chosen direction. But you must feel free and empowered to share your opinions.
5) We are text-first for communication
Our biggest learning from our collective decades of work is that writing it down helps. It helps us, and it helps the team we are working with by making our ideas clear. Anything that requires a discussion should be initiated with a clear one-page note. This is not about polish or elegance in writing. It is about arriving at clarity. If that only requires half a page, that is fine. We often find that Ideas that seem clear to us often need more detail when we are putting it down in writing. Please read the articles shared here (also shared as PDFs; also do search for more about the “Amazon six-pager” ) This is something we’ll all try and continue to get better at.
6) We are a small, flat team
We all go by first names, and we all pitch in when discussing tasks and product features and pros and cons of product and tech decisions. Please feel free to approach anyone about anything!
7) Step out of your comfort zone
The comfort zone can come in many guises. Finding it easier to not talk to some people, to not weigh in with your ideas, to stick to tools you know. That will just not do. You'll learn when you are in an uncertain place. Do not be comfortable with mediocrity.
8) It's absolutely OK to make mistakes
You'll naturally make mistakes as you go along. That's fine. It's part of the learning process. But you should own up to your mistakes.
9) Unlearning can be as important as learning
We tend to pick up habits, in development or otherwise, and stick with them. Assess yourself objectively, periodically, and be prepared to change.
10) Your voice truly counts
It does! We all come from different backgrounds and have different perspectives. It often helps to see it through different eyes. Don't shy away from letting others know what you think.
11) DO NOT be a jerk!
Most of us aren't but it's hard to know if you are being one unintentionally 🙂 Respect others. Your opinions and beliefs aren't sacred and right. They are just yours. Feel free to share them. But do not denigrate others. We come from diverse cultural, socioeconomic, linguistic backgrounds. It is human to have unconscious prejudices. Learn to get over them. Have an open mind. Learn to disagree respectfully