At Travelstride, it’s important to us that we find candidates that share our core values, philosophy, and work ethic. We are looking for the kind of passionate individuals who bring a high desire to build something great and help people.
Travelstride Company Values
March 8, 2021
Think big. Start small. Move fast.
Always create more value than you consume.
Startup life isn’t for everyone. We’ll just get that out of the way. It takes a particular tenacity, a mix of realism and optimism and a healthy dose of faith. You must be willing to give 110% and never say “that’s not my job”.
We are team focused at Travelstride, we support each other, we collaborate daily across several different mediums to make great things happen. We love concentrating on constantly growing and evolving as humans, as employees, and of course, as a business.
We have 15 Core Team Values
For the sake of length we’ll share our 5 most important values in more depth. We use these values as our compass to guide us on how to make decisions as we approach our daily tasks, goals, and large projects:
1. Areté - Greek for “Excellence with purpose” or “Virtue.”
You may never have heard of the word ARETE until today. Arete is a Greek word, meaning “excellence with purpose.” This goes a step beyond the nebulous, broad, and unwieldy idea of just “excellence” which is why we like it. Excellence as a concept is hard to define, it’s hard to measure, it’s hard to live up to.
Arete defines excellence in a slightly more structured way, by applying the concept as a conduit of purpose.
Anything can have Arete if it fulfills its function and purpose to the highest degree. A picture frame that fits the exact size photo it’s supposed to, and opens smoothly, locks smoothly so the picture isn’t crooked - it has Arete. A telescope that focuses perfectly and doesn’t wobble - it has Arete.
2. Speed - A startup’s #1 competitive advantage.
One of our most frequently sited company values is SPEED. We move fast, we innovate, we adhere closely to the 80/20 rule.
If something is worth doing, it’s worth doing well - not necessarily perfectly. And perfect is the enemy of done.
Swift iteration is a startups key to success. And when we say swift, we mean deftly, not sloppily. But, of course we make mistakes - it’s part of being human and it’s a natural byproduct of executing with speed in mind.
Mistakes are essential for growing and learning. Fail faster, fail better, fail with ARETE.
3. Grit - Great things only get accomplished with perseverance.
The startup environment requires a lot of GRIT. To persevere through the unique challenges we face takes a unique will and strength. Grit means diving in and facing problems with a can-do attitude and not giving up when things look extremely tough.
It means appreciating the time spent in the weeds of a project while maintaining a view of the big picture. It means being a constant thinker AND doer - always seeking solutions that not only help you, but impact all teams in a positive way.
4. Daring - Seek big improvements. Take calculated risks.
What does it mean to be BOLD? Not an easy question to answer! For Travelstride, we define bold as the ability to try big things, make big adjustments, and not get distracted by small tasks.
To be bold also means to make bold choices - we don’t shrink from big potentially risky moves when necessary. Sometimes it can be a bold choice to not implement a change because it will negatively impact another part of what makes Travelstride work.
So we come back to GRIT - and find a solution that will work.
5. Balance - Consider the big picture. Wisely choose tradeoffs.
Last, but certainly not least, we must always have BALANCE. At its core, balance is essential to maintaining equilibrium - but it’s important that equilibrium doesn’t mean static. It’s constantly in motion, it’s fluid and flexible.
To maintain balance, you must constantly shift your balance. Sometimes a project you’re working on might start out one way, but unforeseen complications or challenges require a BOLD change. Within each permutation, your center of balance needs to adapt.
We aim to see the full picture of the complex. We handle the tension of opposites - Fast AND Quality. Aim for perfection AND settle for 80/20. Short term AND Long term. Find the middle path. See the Forest AND the Trees. Nothing to excess. Extremes are usually dangerous and false binary choices.
Balance also means you resist the temptation to get pulled too far down a rabbit hole one way or another - always keeping the big picture in mind.
We also have 10 other core values which we'll save for another blog post to discuss in more depth, but the full 15 are:
Travelstride Core Values
ARETE
1. Greek for ‘excellence with purpose’; Go the extra mile, yet do not be a perfectionist.
SPEED
2. Impact per unit of time; opportunity cost
GRIT
3. Courage & resolve, mettle; Per aspera ad astra [through hardships to the stars. Passion + Persistence > Grit.
BALANCE
4. Consider full picture of the complex; handle tension of opposites
DARING
5. Bold, smart risks, integrity
RESPONSIBLE for Results
6. Care as much as the person with the most at stake. The answer to ‘who is responsible for this’ is always: “I am”. Embrace your role in the outcome.
80/20 Principle
7. Go for ROI (return on investment) of time and money. Search for the ‘nuggets of value’ and act where get most leverage.
RESOURCEFUL
8. Improvise. Do more with less, can-do attitude
PROACTIVE
9. Think AND act ahead. Don’t wait.
OBJECTIVE
10. Use data & logic to guide decisions. Be fair. Keep in mind the higher, longer term goal.
UNITED
11. Seek to be helpful, 1 team, contribute more than you consume. All for one, and one for all.
FUN
12. Appreciate each other, use humor, life is short - make people smile wherever possible, even while taking work seriously
GROWTH MINDSET
13. Improve, engage your curiosity, act with 1% daily improvement goal
ADVENTUROUS
14. Embrace and have fun with the unknown, be curious, understand risk, view challenges with optimism AND realism
TRUSTWORTHY
15. Do what you say. Say what you mean. Be kind. Trust cannot be given, only earned. Where trust is high, friction is low, and results blossom. Foundation of everything else. Trust is easy to damage, difficult to build, so tread carefully. Act with integrity always.
We’re big animal lovers here at Travelstride, and so of course we had to come up with a list of animals that exhibit these traits as well as serve as models to emulate in nature.
Check out our team spirit animals »
Athena, our Travelstride mascot and CFO (Chief Furry Officer) would like to give you a high five!
And to take it one step further, every Travelstride employee is christened with a spirit animal within their first month. Can you guess what our CEO is?
Always Alliterate (The 5 P’s)
We have some major word nerds on the Travelstride team, and they love to alliterate. (We’ve asked them to go to Alliteration Addicts Anonymous).
But not before they came up with the following tongue twister, and new hire hazing ritual: Travelstriders are: passionate promising people promoting plentiful professional pre-planned peregrinations.
Here are the 5 P’s to keep in mind when coming to work at Travelstride:
1. People
Consider all the people involved. Customers, Employees, Suppliers, Partners, Investors, Communities; Do the right thing for the relationship.
2. Purpose
Start with 'Why'? and pursue goals strategically. Prioritize and be ruthless about constantly checking your process. Approach all projects with a hypothesis. Begin with the end in mind.
3. Performance
Results - not just aspirational, but practical; Make mistakes, but not repeating the same one; Do more with less. Make a real impact; Work smarter, not necessarily harder, though hard work is important. Find the right balance.
4. Passion
Engage our team members to learn and grow professionally and excel at their functional roles; People have to love what they do, not just travel. Our employees should enjoy traveling and be passionate about great consumer web marketplace experiences. Passion beyond the office is also important - exercise, health, play time are essential for sustained performance. Work cheerfully.
5. Planet
The trips we promote have a complex impact on the planet and local communities. We need to do the 'right thing' and think and act in small and large ways to steward the world's special places. Sustainable travel and social / environmental contributions through awareness, money, time, projects. Be part of the long term solution, not the problem.
Ready to join our team?
Check all open positions on our Careers Page »
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