Rainmaking Culture Book 2022
Rainmaking Culture Book Spring 2022
This document is part manifesto and part employee handbook. Its purpose is to help you understand the Rainmaking Way and some of the principles we celebrate. 2
OUR PURPOSE Rainmaking’s purpose is to help individuals, companies and societies solve big challenges by unleashing the power of entrepreneurship 3
Our story
INNOVATION Innovation is the new normal. There’s no finish line. You can’t be a fast follower. You have to continually innovate. That’s the name of the game in business today - both for our partners and for Rainmaking. 8
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Accelerators Offices 80+ 1,000+ 100+ Fortune 500 companies Ventures Employees We have partnered with more Since 2006 we’ve helped 35 nationalities across than 10% of the Fortune 500 build over 1,000 10 offices on index to deliver tangible results. technology companies. 4 continents. Global team of 250+ entrepreneurs, strategists, product experts, developers, designers, and investors.
Global network We run startups and projects in more than 40 countries. Every year we facilitate 1,250+ startup events with 100,000+ participants across the world. Our global network provides us with first-hand access to innovative startups and early-stage companies in every major startup ecosystem worldwide.
What we do Opportunity mapping Startup pilots Internal innovation Venture Building We identify and prioritise We connect leading We help visionary We combine the best of big new business opportunities corporates and startups in companies design, build, and small, helping in industries, value chains pilots and programs, and run internal innovation corporations launch and and emerging technologies. unlocking value that each programs to create scale new ventures, disrupt part could not achieve sustained innovation industries and deliver alone. capabilities. growth.
Select global partners
OUR VISION When executives in Fortune 500 companies want to tackle big challenges and achieve impact at scale … ...we want to be the trusted innovation partner they call first 13
Meet the family
Values & Culture
VALUES & CULTURE At Rainmaking we particularly value the following behaviors: Be entrepreneurial Be kind Be impactful We are entrepreneurs at heart. We love to Being kind is key in both daily work and We measure success by our impact. We execute and get our hands dirty. We customer relations. We attract people that aim to combine a business outcome with a continue to experiment and are willing to we sincerely enjoy working with and who positive influence on the world. We take risks. We are also professionals who treat each other with kindness, respect partner with like-minded individuals and know how to go from ideas to results. and an open mind. organisations to achieve impact at scale.
VALUES & CULTURE Principles. Not rules Principles In Rainmaking we believe in principles rather than rules. Ask less for permission. Seek forgiveness if you really can’t get around it. We are value driven - not operated by a detailed rule book. In an environment based on trust and the good in people. We would not have it any other way.
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VALUES & CULTURE Listen first. Then listen more Listen first We seek first to understand, then to be understood. Focus on listening rather than responding. Take the approach that everything is a hypothesis and that you could be wrong. Be suggestive rather than instructive, replacing phrases such as ‘certainly’ and ‘undoubtedly’ with ‘perhaps’ and ‘I think’. Be open. That’s how we all get along and learn from each other.
VALUES & CULTURE Use entrepreneurial skills. Bigger impact Make a bigger impact We created BetterNow.org as a crowdfunding platform that has raised USD 18M for 200+ charities in 8 countries. We run a village school in the southern part of India, fully sponsored by our portfolio company able.dk. We have trained hundreds of 8-12-year-olds in entrepreneurship via Rainmaking Kids. We mentor university students in entrepreneurship. In short, we aim for impact beyond just business.
VALUES & CULTURE Think differently. Act differently Diverse We treasure a diversity of perspectives, because it helps us create the biggest possible impact. Therefore, we promote equal opportunities and diverse opinions throughout the company. We employ people from over 35 different nationalities, ranging from insights student assistants to recognised experts with decades of experience, counting 58% men and 42% women. Your value lies not in your age, gender or nationality, but in your ideas, ethics and actions. All perspectives matter – and actions matter more!
VALUES & CULTURE Create fun. Have fun Create fun We take our work seriously but not ourselves. We can laugh at each other and poke fun, but we are always inclusive and kind. We celebrate one another and our achievements. We bring fun to our community and partners in unique, unexpected ways. If we’re not having fun, we’re doing it wrong.
VALUES & CULTURE Get a life. Be a whole person Get a life Eat lunch together. Get to know the people you work with beyond the projects you share. Carve out time for your kids, friends and personal cider projects. We want you to be a happy and a whole person. There is not a private life and a professional life. There is just life, and we want Rainmaking to be popular with your spouse, too.
VALUES & CULTURE Our ethical codex: Ethical Codex Do the right thing We have the courage to do what's right. Especially when the right thing is the hardest path to take. We face the truth. And we say no when things are off the mark. For us, there is no other way. We have to live with the consequences of our choices and it is our choices that show who we really are. Do the right thing. It will gratify some people and astonish the rest.
How we work
HOW WE WORK We aim to avoid heavy structures when it comes to how we share ideas, present projects, and collaborate. We encourage you to reach out to managers and Partners with direct input. This helps the entire company improve. We’re flat - when Still, we keep some degree of hierarchy - to align it makes sense priorities across the business and make sure that every strategic decision has an owner. Our leadership is there to provide guidance and help - not to dictate how you work.
HOW WE WORK You know how you perform best. Work from home - or somewhere else - when you feel like it. We trust you to organise your day without any external micro-management. We cherish an If you want to go to the gym in the middle of the day, entrepreneurial please do. environment We value people who are focused on making things happen. We do not believe in face time for its own sake. And we aim to hire people who can act on their own, without hand-holding.
HOW WE WORK We are very ambitious and want to create an exceptional working environment. We aim for the stars when it comes to the value we bring to customers and the quality we deliver. We are serious about We are not afraid of making hard decisions. delivering quality We are not the place for free riders who cannot navigate in an environment where personal freedom is a virtue.
HOW WE WORK Your gut feeling can only take you so far. We aspire to make our decisions based on data. Do not guess what your teams wants. Do a survey. Data before Challenge your idea of what the best lead driver is or decisions what goes into a successful startup. Look at the stats. Do not assume you know your users’ dreams and frustrations. Ask them.
HOW WE WORK You can always ask anyone in the company for their input. This includes our Partners. In fact, we all have a responsibility to speak up and not just whisper from the corner. Communicate Our organizational structure is flat. The person with the best idea - and the ability to argue for it - wins. No openly and directly matter if he or she is a new hire or a founder. We are still a young company and we acknowledge that we haven’t nailed everything yet. So let us know when we fail. We will never hold it against you.
HOW WE WORK Moving fast enables us to do more things and learn faster. We’re less afraid of making mistakes than we are of losing opportunities by moving too slowly. Move fast and As we grow it is tempting to have more processes and focus on impact involve more people in everything, but we need to stay lean and efficient and not get slow by over-thinking or over-designing things, To have the biggest impact, we need to focus on solving the most important problems and create leverage in everything we do,
HOW WE WORK Rainmaking is a busy place, and you’ll often be on your own to figure things out. Ask for help, but don’t rely on others to hold your hand. You might be tempted to say “It would be nice if Nobody’s gonna someone made a [template, team dinner, etc.].” At Rainmaking, you are that someone. If you want to hold your hand update, change, or fix something, go for it. Every awesome thing you see is like that because someone like you decided to do it.
HOW WE WORK There is no value in reinventing the wheel. Always start by asking: who has done this before, or who can help me achieve this task better and faster? Great artists steal Often somebody in Rainmaking will have done a similar project or task before, so build on top of what has already been made.
HOW WE WORK In every new company, project and offering, we seek to go beyond what is expected and promised. “Der Wow Faktor” Ask yourself (in a German accent, please!): What is “Der Wow Faktor”?
HOW WE WORK Meetings can be great. And sometimes solutions to difficult problems come out of a productive meeting. But way too often, meetings take too much time for too many people. We encourage people to avoid traditional meetings and instead meet 1-on-1 standing up or walking-and-talking. Avoid meetings, If a meeting is necessary, keep it under 30 minutes and if you can only invite the most crucial people. Bring clear recommendations for decisions instead of using the meeting to get to a recommendation. Time is precious. Make it count.
HOW WE WORK We are not cheap when it comes to operating our company. But we are not extravagant either. We believe that all our colleagues know when it makes Spend money as if it sense to hustle with what you got, and when you should invest in a top-notch solution. were your own In general, we encourage everybody to spend money as if it were their own. And to ask a colleague if in doubt.
People Development
PEOPLE We aim to be the preferred place to work for people who are driven to unleash the entrepreneur in themselves and in companies across the world 39
PEOPLE & DEVELOPMENT Are smart and make things happen. Suggest solutions rather than point out problems. Are kind and contribute to creating a good atmosphere. We love to work with Go the extra mile to add value to our customers. people who... Are not afraid of getting their hands dirty. Have a life outside work.
PEOPLE & DEVELOPMENT Are high performers, but not team players. Stay late in the office, just for the sake of face time. Talk, but do not listen. We are not impressed Use politics to get ahead. by people who… Feel too important or busy to help their colleagues. Act too corporate to fit into an entrepreneurial environment.
PEOPLE & DEVELOPMENT We never outsource hiring, but encourage everyone to invest time in hiring and on-boarding. Referrals are welcome! We treasure a diversity of opinions. We value your Building the team perspective rather than your gender, ethnicity, title or physical abilities. Skills and experience are of course important, but we look for a match in values first. We hire people we want to work with.
PEOPLE & DEVELOPMENT Mobility is a perfect driver for personal and professional growth. Your journey in Rainmaking will not be a linear route. It is an expedition to different islands that might take you on detours or lead to unexpected places. Like Mathias, who moved from Copenhagen to Doha to Career moves help launch the new SportsTech program. Or Ida, who stepped from one of our own startups and into our venture building unit. We encourage you to move around within the company – and to always keep an eye on where the next possibility might arise.
PEOPLE & DEVELOPMENT Both you and the company should gain value from your time in Rainmaking. Working here should be a great learning journey, and we expect you to take charge of your own development. Your growth is Start with getting clear on your personal and our growth professional goals. At least twice a year, update your development plan – the “Make it Rain plan”. Make it a priority to have regular feedback sessions with your manager, your mentor and your peers.
DELIVER VALUE The real value creation for our clients lies in what we deliver. This is the time of truth where we will demonstrate real tangible value and convert fine words into action. We want to go beyond expectations and deliver ‘Der Wow Factor’ 45
Let’s create the future together.