The Open Startup

People of Earth,

The time has come for a powerful change in the way we live. In the way we work. And in the way we take care of each other.

A powerful, promising organizational structure has emerged: The Open Startup. Based on the principles of participation, transparency, honesty, ethics, integrity, genuine leadership, mentorship, teaching, lifelong learning, mutual respect, sharing, perseverance, work-life balance, and purpose.

1. The Open Startup encourages participation. We welcome anyone, regardless of their age, gender, geographic location or background to join our cause and help us move forward.
2. The Open Startup is transparent. We know what our peers are working on. We share all information, with no exceptions. We know what’s in for our founders, for our leaders, and for each and every one of us.
3. The Open Startup is honest. We have no secrets. We do not lie to each other or to our customers. We talk openly about our challenges, our strengths, our weaknesses, our progress and our errors.
4. The Open Startup is ethical. We do not do things that harm other people, animals or the environment. We know that once we lose our integrity, it is lost forever.
5. The Open Startup’s leaders are genuine. We follow our leaders because they share our vision and care for our needs. They empower us to be extraordinary. They keep their word. They treat every single one of us as a rare treasure. They are our mentors.
6. The Open Startup empowers everyone to learn and teach. We learn from each other every day. And we teach others what we have learned.
7. The Open Startup encourages mutual respect. We listen attentively to our peers including our customers. We seek to understand where our peers are coming from and understand that respect leads to positive cyclical relationships which will help us and our company move forward.
8. The Open Startup encourages sharing. We prefer equity over salary. We share risks and rewards. We work with our founders, leaders, peers and customers, not just for them. We share our successes and failures.
9. The Open Startup encourages perseverance. We expand the frontier, and we know it is not supposed to be easy. We are optimistic that we will find the solution to any problem. And when we discover that we can’t, we will get help. The moment we give up, we know that we are letting down our peers, our customers, and the company. Thus, we won’t — As long as our mission is worth pursuing.
10. The Open Startup encourages a great work-life balance. We allocate time for our friends and families and enjoy the moment. We will not let our work burn us out. Our leaders will help us delegate tasks.
11. The Open Startup has a purpose. One that goes beyond making a profit for ourselves. We are here to help, to advance humanity.

More

• A great example for a startup that takes transparency serious is Buffer.
• Open Equity
• OpenCompany aims to help startups become more transparent.

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