Profits or culture

When running an agency, there's a constant battle between focusing on profitability or building culture.

On one hand, it's easier to focus on profitability at first because it's necessary for the company to survive. What's the point in focusing on culture if the company won't be around in 6 months? However, focusing only on profitability creates a culture where profitability is the only thing that matters and, while we're all different, I wouldn't enjoy working in that kind of environment. Even if Axe Capital focuses heavily on profitability and has built a culture around it, the billions that have followed the series can easily see that there's also a culture - a comradeship.

In contrast, focusing on culture in the beginning is great because there's this blank paper right in front of you. With a strong, clearly defined culture, it's easier to not just attract talent, but attract the right talent. These talented individuals will not only get the work done excellently, but can create an ecosystem where 1+1 can actually equal 3.

We can see that there are also similarities in how we should look at UX when creating products. It's never really about this one thing, but rather the balance between all of them.