Emil Wang Community-oriented corporate culture is smart business Many start-ups in the Valley look at a financial play. Create a buzz ” then sell out. In our case, we really wanted to build a company. We incubated from our venture capital firm the Mayfield Fund. We actually spent considerable amounts of time specifying a company cultural environment. In start-ups you normally build a sustainable market and business strategy; less typical is to also build a sustainable corporate environment. The big issue here in the Valley has been recruiting and retaining good employees ( especially during the boom of 1998 “2000). We did not offer extravagant salaries. Rather, we opted to create a company environment with flexible work hours. In addition, our employees could take time off for nonprofit activities. We were not going to be the kind of start-up that made people work until they dropped. Balance of life was built into the business model. Our top performers have personal family lives and lives in their community. Here in the U.S., even our kids are thinking more about community service and it is part of the lifestyle. Company exercise rooms are now standard because business leaders realize that physically fit employees are more productive and happier employees. Companies should recognize that many individuals engage in community service to balance their lives; like exercise, this should be embraced as part of the corporate culture. This provides an opportunity to distinguish ourselves for recruiting good employees. We created a policy where we offered , in addition to vacation time, one week of paid community service that every employee can take advantage of. One example of how this is used is for an employee to participate in the AIDS bicycle ride from Silicon Valley to Los Angeles; this raises money for AIDS research. Companies are looking for ways to entertain their employee base. We also try to organize community service events that attract our employees' interest. We have supported Habitat for Humanity, an organization of volunteers who help to build homes for poor people; sponsored a triathalon; established a corporate charity challenge; and raised money for charitable organizations. We need help to get smart about how we can make a difference in the way we want to do it A person who is attracted to a start-up might want to make an individual contribution or find an innovative way to give, but few of us are in the business of knowing which organizations will be good for us. The Entrepreneurs Foundation brokers and filters what is best for us given our interests. For example, we wanted to do something with Ronald McDonald House, which hosts children with serious illnesses. We were able to donate our software so the kids could video-conference with their relatives. This was a unique contribution that we could make with our product and a volunteer effort. In the same way that venture capitalists help to set up a company, the Entrepreneurs Foundation asks you what your idea is. If it makes sense, then they will help you find a group to work with. Start-ups have been laggards in giving back to their communities There is a recognition that start-ups need to look at their participation in the community, but by no means is it widespread. The vast majority of companies are just trying to survive. But, many more people have set up their own private giving foundations. Still, the leap from individuals to small companies has not yet arrived. The larger companies like Hewlett-Packard and Cisco are set up for community service. It is embryonic for start-ups. That is where EF has made a dent. They market to pre-IPO companies for serious corporate philanthropy. For many foreign-born entrepreneurs and workers, philanthropy is an alien concept The individuals we hire are exposed to it. By being exposed to it in the corporate culture, they get it. Even with the Internet bubble burst, a lot of people still give money and time. People want to be in a start-up because they want to be more involved in the business. That same ethos carries to community involvement. We made a conscious effort to build this into the company structure. And we made the commitment to designate an employee to coordinate the company's volunteerism and community service. Being part of the community is a quality of life decision, just as are healthy lifestyles and creating family time. | 