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CULTURE CODE
Bring Bold Jewish Ideas to Light
JANUARY 2019

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UpStart partners with
the Jewish community’s
boldest leaders to
expand the picture of
how Jews find meaning
and how we come
together.

Whether someone is
starting a new Jewish
venture or reimagining
what an existing one
has to offer...

UpStart provides them
with the
entrepreneurial tools
and network they need
to build the Jewish
community of the
future.

THIS DECK IS ABOUT
UPSTART’S CULTURE
The behaviors, systems, and practices
that make us who we are.
WHAT WE DO HOW WE ORGANIZE
HOW WE ACTIVATE OUR VALUES

Organizations can ignore, dictate, or
pray for positive culture.
Or it can be intentionally co-created and
owned by the team.
We opt for the latter.

UpStart’s culture is
what brings our bold
Jewish ideas to light.

It’s about how we
partner with each
other to do our best
and brightest work.

IT’S ABOUT BEING TRAILBLAZERS,
TOGETHER.

Our culture rests on three things:
1. Values
2. Team Philosophy
3. Culture Code
OUR CULTURE RESTS ON
THREE THINGS:
• Values
• Team Philosophy
• Culture Code
Let’s go through each of them.

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VALUES

Vision and mission define where your
company’s going…the values define how
we get there.
—MEDIUM.COM
An organization’s
shared beliefs

Empathy Optimism Collaboration Risk-taking
OUR VALUES

Empathy
We tap into the hearts and minds of
those we serve, inspiring breakthrough
solutions rooted in the needs of our
community.

Optimism
We view the world through the frame of
possibility, transforming challenges into
opportunities to create a better path
forward.

Collaboration
We imagine, together. We believe that the
collective wisdom, vision and hard work of
our network will lead us to a thriving Jewish
future.

Risk-taking
We take bold, intentional risks,
encourage experimentation, and embrace
failure as a learning opportunity.

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TEAM PHILOSOPHY

We’re not talking about a whole
megillah (scroll) — just a few words that
describe how we work together to bring
bold Jewish ideas to light.
Who we are, who we
strive to be, and what
we value as a team

TEAM PHILOSOPHY
• Dream with purpose
• Build the ‘what might be’
• Grow the good

ACT WITH INTENTION AND IMAGINATION.
Dream with purpose

MOVE BOLDLY FROM VISION TO REALITY.
Build the ‘what might be’

NURTURE POTENTIAL AND MAKE IT THRIVE.
Grow the good

CULTURE CODE
How we activate our values
and philosophy
CULTURE CODES
ARE ASPIRATIONAL

AT UPSTART, WE:
1. Believe in the power of Jewish
traditions and communities
2. Strive to model our vision of a just,
vibrant, and inclusive future
3. Hold ourselves accountable to high
standards, even when failure is possible
and iteration is essential
4. Value and respect one another’s time
5. Lead with both playfulness and
professionalism
6. Stay at the cutting edge by perpetually
investing in our own learning
7. Remain agile and entrepreneurial,
supporting each other and our network
as we take bold steps toward the future
we want to see

We create space to connect our work to Judaism’s diverse
textual, ritual, philosophical, and communal traditions.
ONE
We believe in the power of Jewish
traditions and communities.

Our offices close on
Jewish holidays, but
we make sure to
celebrate some of
them at work —
UpStart style.
EXAMPLE:

We engage in deep and honest self-reflection and fuel our
own evolution towards our highest aspirations for Jewish life.
TWO
We strive to model our vision of a just,
vibrant, and inclusive future.

The UpStart Venture
Alumni Network
represents some of our
community’s boldest
organizations pursuing
this future.
EXAMPLE:
Honest moment of self-reflection: We
are exploring how to best reflect that
future internally.

We push ourselves to step outside our comfort zone,
celebrate our successes, and act on our missed
opportunities.
THREE
We hold ourselves accountable to high
standards, even when we know failure is
possible and iteration is essential.

Our quarterly
planning process
(OKRs) encourages
team members to
set aspirational
goals that are
ambitious and
actionable.
EXAMPLE:

We develop work and communication systems that
prioritize autonomy, efficiency, and respect for each
other’s personal and professional needs.
That’s why we tried to make this deck ½ the size of many
of its counterparts!
FOUR
We value and respect one another’s time.

We don’t count hours
— your performance
is judged by the
quality of your work,
your productivity, and
your relationships.
EXAMPLE:
And did we
mention we have
an open vacation
policy?

We infuse our work with humor, levity, and imagination. And
we respect professional boundaries of communication.
FIVE
We lead with both playfulness
and professionalism.

Team email threads
often include dog
photos, gifs, and
punning contests.
EXAMPLE:
There’s even a #PupStart Slack
channel for dog lovers.

We put the time and dollars towards our growth
as entrepreneurial leaders.
SIX
We stay at the cutting edge by perpetually
investing in our own learning.

Here are just a few
examples:
• PD funds
• Book club
• Tiny teaches
• Customer discovery
• Staff retreat
• In-house trainings

We dare to blaze new trails and to evolve with the needs
of those we serve.
And, we support each other when it gets hard.
SEVEN
We remain agile and entrepreneurial,
supporting each other and our network as
we take bold steps towards the future we
want to see.

A STORY OF EVOLUTION AND RISK
• Starting a new organization focused on
fueling Jewish entrepreneurship.
• Broadening our focus from ventures to
include institutions and the larger field.
• UpStart, Bikkurim, Joshua Venture
Group, and PresenTense U.S. merged
into a single organization (UpStart) so
we could serve the field better.
• Embarking on a 3-year strategic plan
with a bold expansion, program, and
fundraising strategy.

And every day, we’re
taking small but equally
bold steps to create and
adapt - and yes, even
scrap - our approaches
to the work.
We’re building our story of
evolution every day.

SO HOW DO WE ACTIVATE
THIS CULTURE?

CULTURE IS OWNED BY
Everyone, everywhere, all the time.

The goal is to live and breathe it.

BUT WE WANT TO EMPOWER PEOPLE TO GO DEEPER.
So we built the UpStart Culture Crews.

A group of team members who
prototype new ways to activate
our culture.
WHAT IS A CULTURE CREW?

Who are the FY 19 Culture Crews…

1. PEOPLE PROJECT
Make meaningful milestones across the
happiness spectrum, Jewish holidays, and
other celebratory and relationship-
building activities.
Related Codes: #1, #4 and #5

2. DIVERSITY, EQUITY, & INCLUSION
Explore standards and accountability
around diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Related Codes: #1 and #2

3. STAFF LEARNING
Provide learning opportunities on relevant
topics (i.e: nonprofit management,
entrepreneurship, Jewish wisdom) to
support achievement of organizational
goals.
Related Codes: #1, #3, #6 and #7

AND REMEMBER,
Culture is owned by everyone, everywhere,
all the time, so — let’s bring bold Jewish
ideas to light!

Bring Bold Jewish
Ideas to Light
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