denis kaminskiy, ceo arcus global, from start up to scale up
TRANSCRIPT
From Start-up to Scale-upDenis Kaminskiy, co-Founder & CEO
Cambridge Network 29th November 2016
•Founded July 2009, in Cambridge•104 staff members•Average growth ~ 100% p.a. • Innovation: 30% of revenue spent on software R&D
WHO ARE WE?
WHAT DO WE DO?
Lots of cool software for essential Public Services e.g:
• Built Environment (Planning, Building Control)• Licensing • Education • Social Care, Health• Waste, Public Health
Plus: consulting, managed services, Amazon Web Services, Salesforce.com
HOW ARE WE DOING?
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140Arcus Revenue and People FYE (Jul) £0
00#people
We aggressively disrupt existing, stale
competition
Successful because of our culture
Shared values & attitudes
How to do what I don’t know
Who do I want to be
How do we make money
When things go wrong?
Why what we do matters
Our personality
Our memory
Relationships colleagues &
customers
CULTURE
CULTURE DETERMINES “WHO” THE COMPANY ARE
• Defines who we are = the “inner voice”
• Answers in times of crisis, stress, confusion or rapid growth
• The only way for a manager to really trust an employee
CULTURE IS A LEVER FOR BUSINESS
• It can help or stop growth and
CREATIVITY / INNOVATION
• Helps understand how a “Big Decision” will work out
• The only thing (along with cash) that separates success from failure
What we believe
We HAVE to use our judgement
We are blame-free.
(But we’ll ask you to learn)
We are creative, ingenuous,
tenacious, curious
Diversity is our strength
Flexibility & Quality are not opposites
The public sector is special
We are
cost-effective
We are honest
(we don’t lie)
Being of one culture, DOES NOT mean we are the same
We encourage “different” and “strange”
Have a STRENGTH, don’t try to be “well rounded”
Be yourself, have a unique perspective
We are working to make Arcus great
place to work
FriendsFacilities
Social eventsPerksTrust
• It’s like being on holiday
• You are eating through your savings (no money is being made)
• It’s all “you vs. the world”
• 100% commitment, 100% trust
FOUNDING THE COMPANY IS AMAZING
• You go “all in” everyday, and everyone is one family (everyone has been hired by a founder)
• Spirit of rebellion, feeling of changing the world – No “Status Quo”
• We wanted to build a business that we would LOVE to work in
• But Payroll has to be paid now
BEING A LARGER START-UP IS GREAT !
• 60% of people are new (joined <18 months ago)
• New professions join, with new skills and ideas
• Repeatability & quality matter to clients, so routine creeps in
• Have to invest in retaining the best bit of “Start-up” Culture, but allow it to grow up too
BEING A SCALE-UP IS HARDER
• We hire for culture fit first & foremost
• We follow our culture at every level and decision (it has to “feel” right)
• Communication tools help – and become carriers of culture, we use:#slack, we have topic based “guilds” (with GMs), as well as “all hands”
• Founders / Directors sit with everyone – not in a separate office
SCALING CULTURE IS TOUGH
Not sure it will work,but our culture tells me it
will…