


We were intentional about our company culture from day one. Here’s why that matters.
Every company has culture – the question is whether it's intentional or accidental. We chose the former, and here's what we learned.
Aug 26

Thijs
Aug 26

Thijs
As someone who worked at different companies in very different industries, I've seen firsthand how important company culture is. When I joined Cradle, I was impressed by the intentional approach to Cradle’s cultural foundation. In this post, I want to share why you should care about cultural values if you’re considering joining a company (including Cradle!), and why everyone building a company should recognize the impact of their company’s culture.
Every company has culture – but is yours intentional or accidental?
Let's start with a simple truth: every company has a culture, whether defined or not. The difference lies in how intentional and explicit that culture is.
Imagine two startups in the same field. Company A has clearly defined cultural values that guide decision-making and behavior. When faced with a tough choice between rapid growth and maintaining product quality, they can refer to their values to make a decision aligned with their long-term vision. Company B, on the other hand, has never taken the time to articulate their values. When the same dilemma arises, different team members pull in different directions based on personal beliefs, potentially resulting in confusion, conflict and compromised outcomes.
But it's not just about having values – it's about having the right values for your context. Take Uber and Stripe, for example. Both have clearly defined cultures, but they're quite different:
Uber's early culture was famously aggressive and growth-focused, with values like "Always be hustlin'" and “Toe-stepping". This aligned with their disruptive approach to a highly regulated industry.
Stripe, on the other hand, emphasizes values like "Users first" and "Think rigorously". This fits their mission of building complex financial infrastructure that requires trust and reliability.
Neither approach is inherently right or wrong – they reflect different business contexts, leadership styles, and strategic goals.
Every company has a culture, whether defined or not.

Cradle's founding team: Intentional about culture from day one.
Cradle chose intentional from day one – here's what that looks like
What struck me about Cradle was how the founders approached culture from day one. Even before the company was officially founded, they discussed in depth the kind of culture they wanted to create and the type of people they wanted to work with. This isn't surprising when you consider their backgrounds – at places like Google, Uber, DSM, and Zymergen, they experienced very different company cultures and the impact culture has on the team and the perception of the outside world.
Be a curious student and a generous teacher
While the founders originally started with identifying values from other companies that resonated with them, they soon adapted and molded them into values that are more specific to the context Cradle operates in. For example, one of my personal favorites recognizes the power of collaboration across disciplines, and the need for everyone to continuously take their colleagues by the hand as discussions veer into the complex depths of biology or AI research. They captured the need to constantly ask questions and patiently explain details in the principle “Be a curious student and a generous teacher.” Living up to this principle, the biology team has been creating a video-series, documenting their lab work in detail.

Our wet lab team: Curious students, generous teachers.
Having values isn't enough – they should "hurt" (a little)
Cradle aims to build a product that enables a sustainable, healthy future through programmable biology. To achieve that audacious goal, it has to create an environment where people can do their best work. Cradle’s founders believe that this requires a company culture that balances its ambitious mission with professional growth and personal well-being.
Cradle distilled its cultural values into three overarching themes:
Empower Pioneers and Ensure Their Success
Innovate with Curiosity and Optimism
Foster Freedom and Fast Execution
These themes provide a framework for how Cradle’s employees make decisions and operate. In this blog post you can read how Cradle has concretized these values into specific principles that are designed to "hurt" a little – i.e. help us close off viable or even promising paths in cases of hard tradeoffs. For instance, Cradle is committed to doing what’s right for the planet – and this comes at the expense of us turning down lucrative but ethically questionable projects. Operating principles also incentivize desired behavior that doesn’t come naturally. E.g., Cradle wants its employees to take initiative, ship fast and iterate often. This involves asking for feedback while work is still in progress. This is uncomfortable for most people – but it’s what is expected and surely results in a lot more x-functional collaboration.
Our operating principles shape our culture in meaningful ways, influencing everything from how we interact with customers to how we approach problem-solving and decision-making. No one can go wrong if they can explain how our values and operating principles led them to a certain decision. This creates alignment and empowers every team member to act with confidence and purpose. (Which, by the way, is not to say people cannot disagree with you on the basis of the same set of values – quite the contrary.)
This is why culture becomes your company's operating system
Cradle’s cultural values & operating principles tell us why we’re here and how we operate. By making these explicit and public, we aim to provide clarity for current and prospective Cradle employees, and inspiration for any company builder considering writing cultural values down.
As someone who worked at different companies in very different industries, I've seen firsthand how important company culture is. When I joined Cradle, I was impressed by the intentional approach to Cradle’s cultural foundation. In this post, I want to share why you should care about cultural values if you’re considering joining a company (including Cradle!), and why everyone building a company should recognize the impact of their company’s culture.
Every company has culture – but is yours intentional or accidental?
Let's start with a simple truth: every company has a culture, whether defined or not. The difference lies in how intentional and explicit that culture is.
Imagine two startups in the same field. Company A has clearly defined cultural values that guide decision-making and behavior. When faced with a tough choice between rapid growth and maintaining product quality, they can refer to their values to make a decision aligned with their long-term vision. Company B, on the other hand, has never taken the time to articulate their values. When the same dilemma arises, different team members pull in different directions based on personal beliefs, potentially resulting in confusion, conflict and compromised outcomes.
But it's not just about having values – it's about having the right values for your context. Take Uber and Stripe, for example. Both have clearly defined cultures, but they're quite different:
Uber's early culture was famously aggressive and growth-focused, with values like "Always be hustlin'" and “Toe-stepping". This aligned with their disruptive approach to a highly regulated industry.
Stripe, on the other hand, emphasizes values like "Users first" and "Think rigorously". This fits their mission of building complex financial infrastructure that requires trust and reliability.
Neither approach is inherently right or wrong – they reflect different business contexts, leadership styles, and strategic goals.
Every company has a culture, whether defined or not.

Cradle's founding team: Intentional about culture from day one.
Cradle chose intentional from day one – here's what that looks like
What struck me about Cradle was how the founders approached culture from day one. Even before the company was officially founded, they discussed in depth the kind of culture they wanted to create and the type of people they wanted to work with. This isn't surprising when you consider their backgrounds – at places like Google, Uber, DSM, and Zymergen, they experienced very different company cultures and the impact culture has on the team and the perception of the outside world.
Be a curious student and a generous teacher
While the founders originally started with identifying values from other companies that resonated with them, they soon adapted and molded them into values that are more specific to the context Cradle operates in. For example, one of my personal favorites recognizes the power of collaboration across disciplines, and the need for everyone to continuously take their colleagues by the hand as discussions veer into the complex depths of biology or AI research. They captured the need to constantly ask questions and patiently explain details in the principle “Be a curious student and a generous teacher.” Living up to this principle, the biology team has been creating a video-series, documenting their lab work in detail.

Our wet lab team: Curious students, generous teachers.
Having values isn't enough – they should "hurt" (a little)
Cradle aims to build a product that enables a sustainable, healthy future through programmable biology. To achieve that audacious goal, it has to create an environment where people can do their best work. Cradle’s founders believe that this requires a company culture that balances its ambitious mission with professional growth and personal well-being.
Cradle distilled its cultural values into three overarching themes:
Empower Pioneers and Ensure Their Success
Innovate with Curiosity and Optimism
Foster Freedom and Fast Execution
These themes provide a framework for how Cradle’s employees make decisions and operate. In this blog post you can read how Cradle has concretized these values into specific principles that are designed to "hurt" a little – i.e. help us close off viable or even promising paths in cases of hard tradeoffs. For instance, Cradle is committed to doing what’s right for the planet – and this comes at the expense of us turning down lucrative but ethically questionable projects. Operating principles also incentivize desired behavior that doesn’t come naturally. E.g., Cradle wants its employees to take initiative, ship fast and iterate often. This involves asking for feedback while work is still in progress. This is uncomfortable for most people – but it’s what is expected and surely results in a lot more x-functional collaboration.
Our operating principles shape our culture in meaningful ways, influencing everything from how we interact with customers to how we approach problem-solving and decision-making. No one can go wrong if they can explain how our values and operating principles led them to a certain decision. This creates alignment and empowers every team member to act with confidence and purpose. (Which, by the way, is not to say people cannot disagree with you on the basis of the same set of values – quite the contrary.)
This is why culture becomes your company's operating system
Cradle’s cultural values & operating principles tell us why we’re here and how we operate. By making these explicit and public, we aim to provide clarity for current and prospective Cradle employees, and inspiration for any company builder considering writing cultural values down.
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