Since founding SEDA College and helping other startups, such as Abmex, I’ve learned how important it is to stay true to the company’s values.
In the world of startups, it’s easy to get lost amid so many daily demands and challenges, but staying aligned with values is essential to ensure long-term success.
In this article, I’m going to talk a little more about this subject and show how staying true to your principles makes all the difference.
Well-defined values and their relationship with the success of the startup
A Harvard University study showed that companies with a strong, well-defined culture outperform their competitors in terms of financial performance and employee retention.
In addition, organizations that have carefully defined values establish stronger relationships with their customers and employees, which results in loyalty and trust.
In my case, when I founded SEDA College, my core value was to offer quality education at an affordable price, but also not to go to war to be the cheapest on the market. After all, this would make the quality of teaching fall.
This value was decisive for building our identity and for choosing our employees and suppliers. Over time, we grew and the core value became embedded in the company culture. Today, we have more than 50 employees, some schools spread across Ireland and we already serve more than 25 thousand students.
Startup identity and differentiation
By staying true to your startup’s values, you establish a unique and authentic identity. This identity can be used as a competitive advantage, which is very important in such a saturated market.
The ability to transmit your values and convictions is essential to attract customers and partners who identify with your vision.
In addition, having well-defined values also helps to guide business decisions and actions. When all team members share the same values, it’s easier to make decisions in line with the mission you’ve established.
This also helps to avoid internal conflicts and ensure that everyone is aligned with the company’s strategy and objectives.
Flexibility in adapting values
I couldn’t help but say that staying true to your startup’s values doesn’t mean being inflexible. It is natural for values and goals to change over time as the company grows and evolves.
The important thing is to always be attentive and update your values according to the needs and changes in the market, but not change your principles.
In short, this is a crucial point for long-term success. After all, these values define the company’s identity and culture, help guide decisions and actions and can be used as a competitive advantage.
Therefore, it is essential to establish and regularly review your values to ensure that the company is always aligned with its mission and vision.
And remember: values are the foundation of everything and must be defended with conviction. Now that you know the importance of staying true to your startup values, get to work and good luck!
