What Will You Find at the Heart of Steadfast Tech Companies? Unique Core Values

There is something that animates the heart of the world’s most steadfast companies: core values.

So argued business experts and Stanford professors Jim Collins and Jerry Porras when they lauded the unparalleled power of a carefully crafted set of core values in their 1994 book Built to Last. Since the early aughts, core values have become the earmark of modern business — but although most companies have core values, not every set of values has the heart and sacrosanctity that Collins and Porras praised. 

Rare is the set of guiding principles that truly drives a company’s workforce forward, but it is present at Favor, where CEO Keith Duncan champions authentic principles over hollow platitudes.

“We didn’t want our values to be just a poster on the wall in the office,” he told Built In Austin. “They represent who we are and how we operate.”

We didn’t want our values to be just a poster on the wall in the office. They represent who we are and how we operate.”

Duncan has leaned into bold values that resonate with his contemporary tech workforce at Favor, while SmarterX has embraced the concept of perpetual evolution. 

“Staying true to our values means ongoing reflection and learning,” said Chief Talent Officer Nicole Adams Kraus. “We’re not perfect, but we’re evolving.” 

CertifID has taken a more systematic approach, codifying its eight values into a weighty acronym the company calls “PROGRESS,” shared CEO and Co-Founder Tyler Adams. 

“This mantra is our guide that keeps us focused on delivering for our customers while creating a safe, motivating and thriving work environment,” Adams said. 

What Favor, SmarterX and CertifID’s core values have in common is that each set is wildly different — guiding principles as unique to its company’s vision as DNA. Built In sat down with all three leaders to find out how they distilled the heart of their respective organizations into actionable core values.   

Keith Duncan

Chief Executive Officer • Favor

Favor is a delivery app “made by Texans, for Texans.” Favor’s local delivery drivers deliver everything from morning coffee to family dinners. 

Why are Favor’s values so important to the business?

These values were designed by our team members several years ago, and they still hold true today. They run deep in the fabric of what Favor represents and how we operate day to day. When creating these values, our goal was to come up with values everyone in the company would know, respect and live by. We didn’t want them to be just a poster on the wall in the office. They needed to represent who we are and how we operate. 

Values are what your company represents. Culture is how you bring them to life. At Favor, our values are the foundation of our culture — what makes our workplace special. They bring out the best in our team members, provide motivation and help differentiate Favor in our marketplace.

Values are what your company represents. Culture is how you bring those values to life.”

What are some steps you take to stay true to those values?

First, we have a program called Favor Salutes, which encourages team members to recognize their peers for good deeds and outstanding performance that align with our core values. Once a month at our Town Hall, we recognize one Favor Salute winner per core value by reading the team member’s submission to the whole company, award them with a gift card and give them a chance to spin a prize wheel.

One of the prizes on the wheel is “tiny wheel” which is exactly what it sounds like: a smaller version of the larger prize wheel that team members can spin for cash prizes. Every time we do this, the company chants “tiny wheel” in unison. It’s always a blast — but more importantly, it's an amazing way to recognize our team members and celebrate our values. 

Secondly, each team member is evaluated — by themselves and their manager — on whether they embody each core value during the performance review cycle. This really helps tie our values back to how team members operate and perform, and also crystallizes why our values are so important.

What are some traits you look for in employees that indicate their values are aligned with yours?

Similar to our performance reviews, current team members and interviewing candidates absolutely need to check the box on whether or not we feel they will embody our values and how we feel they will represent and support our culture. 

We publicly list our core values on our careers page — this is done intentionally. For “community first,” we need team members who are authentic, connected and caring. For “Own Your Sh*t,” look for team members who will hold themselves and others accountable. For “Good Vibes,” we need team members who will do their best, be positive and have fun. For “Keep Running,” we need team members who are goal-oriented and have the grit to achieve those goals.

Nicole Adams Kraus

Chief Talent Officer • SmarterX

SmarterX aims to help companies know more about consumer products to make and market. 

Why are SmarterX’s values so important to the business?

At SmarterX, we connect the dots among consumer products, head-scratching regulations and environmental impact — empowering retailers and brands to make smart and sustainable decisions. 

In simple terms, we help them “know more” so they can “do better” for business, the planet and their communities. Our four values support that purpose and our team. Expertise is critical to how we work — that’s the “know” in “know more.” We encourage everyone to build a core knowledge area essential to providing the data our customers need to be successful. Having an anchor of expertise also helps our team as they progress in their careers. 

Curiosity — the “more” in “know more” — is the fuel that drives us to dig deeper into the complexities of our business. It’s also important in our teamwork: We approach each other with curiosity versus judgment to better unlock issues. 

The third value, impact, is the “do” in “do better.” We do what it takes to make a difference and grow — the “better” in “do better.” This means that we strive to be better today than we were yesterday, as a company and as individuals.

What are some steps you take to stay true to those values?

Our culture interview is critical to the hiring process. During the interview, we share our values and ask people to not only link them to the role they’re applying for but also to aspects of their own lives. 

I recently interviewed someone who is pursuing project management certification as a part of her path as a lifelong learner. It was an authentic growth story. Secondly, we’ve laid an additional foundation for our curiosity value this year by introducing a concept called the “mood elevator,” which is a simple tool used in culture-shaping work. 

Culture is a reflection of how individuals show up at work. And the “mood elevator” gives us a common language to talk about how we’re feeling and how that impacts our work. We’re using this tool to teach our team that curiosity is the baseline place from which we can have productive interactions, meetings and conversations.

Culture is a reflection of how individuals show up at work.”

What are some traits you look for in employees that indicate their values are aligned with yours?

Two specific traits come to mind: expertise and impact. 

While expertise can and is certainly reflected in a specific level of career expertise, I get excited to see this outside of work. On our team, we have some amazing former professional athletes, jewelry makers, musicians, passionate chefs — you name it. That same dedication to honing a craft outside of work shows up in how our team members attack building expertise and solving problems at work. It’s inspiring to see such diversity of skills and the passion to pursue them.  

We are lucky that we get to make an impact on our planet and communities with our technology, and this gets our team excited. How people talk about impact is also an important trait. People who truly care about and understand impact speak in terms of concrete results and not just high-level platitudes. For example, a customer success manager who understands impact as it relates to their role will say, “I had a 95 percent renewal rate for all of my accounts” versus, “My clients were really happy.” When someone understands the essence of impact we know our values are aligned in that area.

Tyler Adams

CEO and Co-Founder • CertifID

CertifID strives to help stop wire fraud and keep money out of the hands of criminals.

Why are CertifID’s values so important to the business?

All of us here at CertifID know that our culture is one of the key markers of what makes our company so special. ‍We have a clear mission. ‍We show up. We’re okay with being different. ‍We invest in being people-first. We codified our culture into eight values that we call “PROGRESS.” 

This mantra is our guide that keeps us focused on delivering for our customers while creating a safe, motivating and thriving work environment. If we collectively and individually “PROGRESS” just a little each day, we’ll fulfill our mission to create a world without wire fraud.

What are some steps you take to stay true to those values? 

Our values are deeply embedded into our operational DNA. This has enabled us to be very intentional in our growth. We carry our values through in a number of ways: daily kudos on Slack, quarterly awards, monthly team happy hours, annual summit, pickleball events, guest speaker sessions and monthly lunch-and-learns. 

Our values are deeply embedded into our operational DNA.”

Our values also come through in how we support each other's daily work and career development, focus on DEI initiatives, offer company mental health days, educate on mental health in the workplace, support working parents and foster belonging and inclusion.

What are some traits you look for in employees that indicate their values are aligned with yours?

Being at CertifID means you're working hard to make the impossible possible. That means you likely have values that align with our “PROGRESS” culture values, and that might look something like this: 

• You will do whatever it takes to protect customers’ businesses, employees, clients and money. 
• You’re not afraid to raise the bar; to constantly push the envelope through innovation and to challenge yourself daily.
• Urgency is your happy place, as you are driven to stay one step ahead of the competition. 
• You are known for venturing beyond your comfort zone as you try, fail, learn and grow. 
• You are driven by a mission that helps improve the lives of others. 
• You build off of others’ energy and successes to thrive as a team. 
• You wish to contribute to an environment where everyone feels safe and creativity can flourish.