Scaling culture How to nurture a coherent company culture amidst change and growth Jutta Horstmann | Managing Director (COO) | eyeo GmbH Chief in Tech Summit 2022

eyeo… Who?

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Our Mission Empowering a balanced and sustainable online value exchange

Our Vision Any value exchange that is balanced between all sides; everyone benefits. Putting you in control of a fair and prosperous internet We aim to create solutions that give all stakeholders choice in how the internet works best for them. The healthier and stronger the ecosystem, the more enduring it will be.

FROM: 2 to 14 products 16m to 220m users 6 to 250 people 3 to 35 nationalities 0 to 10 lawsuits 1 to 700 partners

The startup needs to scale

Scaling Business Product Organization Culture

Scaling culture

How to scale a culture to 250+ people? Provide clarity Tell stories Embrace diversity Break down silos

Evolution of culture - from implicit to explicit Implicit ▪ Developer-first ▪ Remote first ▪ Open Source ▪ Libertarian ▪ Full transparency ▪ Work family A bit explicit ▪ Core Values Very explicit ▪ ▪ Communication guidelines Leadership principles Evolving ▪ Culture Council ▪ Core Values update ▪ Mission & Vision statements

Our values - the basis for scaling our culture Empathy Experimentatio n Ambition Trust Inclusivit y Balance

Finding balance in an ecosystem of extremes

Balance Optimizing for publisher revenue Short-term success Remote Professionalization & standardization High Performance Control Rapid change Optimizing for user experience Long-term sustainability Co-located Creativity & innovation Sustainable pace Empowerment Iterative and participatory approach

“Scaling people”?

Helping people to grow with the company The Old Guard 10% of staff hired 2011 - 15 Finding and keeping talent Resilience Change is here to stay 33% of staff hired 2016 - 18 World-wide hiring Anti-fragility 57% of staff hired 2019 - 21 Flat hierarchy Trust Talent development Empowerment & Enablement Appreciation

“In the past we were pirates, now we are the Royal Navy.”

Addressing identity crisis Empathy Clarity Leadership Explain. Listen. Repeat. Vision & Mission Commitment “What’s in it for me?” Strategy Multiplicators Values Leading by example Behavior

Scaling yourself ▪ Let go ▪ Step out ▪ Empower ▪ Relax

The next 10 years

How to keep disrupting? Beware of the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse: ▪ Complacency ▪ Bureaucracy ▪ Mistrust ▪ Timidity

Takeaways

  1. Growth comes with pain.

  1. Build for scale, embrace change, and allow people to grow with the company.

  1. Enjoy the ride.

Thank you. Questions? Jutta Horstmann Managing Director (COO) j.horstmann@eyeo.com @smphr