Ten thoughts on what matters at a startup: Respect

Why does respect matter at a startup?

At Primal Fusion, we talk about having respect for each other, our customers and users, our competitors, shareholder investments, and the opportunity we have to build something meaningful. Beyond the obvious truth that respect is something that we all deserve, these people and things are important to us at Primal Fusion and it just makes good business sense to be respectful of them.

For example, I periodically respond to user issues in both email and on our public presence on GetSatisfaction.com. Knowledgeable responses are a requirement, but respect is the key to successful interactions here. I’ll let others judge whether I’m delivering, but it’s certainly a goal that I aim for.

In the end, respectful interactions with people are just easier and more productive.

You do need to know where you stand, though, and realize that on occasion you’ll encounter a situation where you just can’t get alignment on an issue. You need to be able to respectfully agree to disagree.

This is one in a short series of posts called Ten Thoughts on what matters at a startup. The thoughts started life as a presentation I made at VeloCity residence at the University of Waterloo. While they’re far from definitive, and aren’t a top ten, they’ve mattered to me in my software startup experience.