Working at a startup can get a bad rap. Fast growth and high levels of production are often associated with overwork and burnout, and plenty of studies corroborate that connection. The “always on” pressure of startups can be mentally and emotionally taxing.
Yet for all of the negative examples of startup life that exist, there are plenty of positives—companies making meaningful shifts to startup culture in order to help everyone feel happier and healthier at work.
Enter Mercury, a fintech company that offers banking services for startups through their partner banks. They’ve centered their work style around “appreciating quality,” a core tenant that drives everything from product decisions to company culture to the types of people they hire.
That centralized mindset is making a big difference in how they work together and grow as a team. “Working at a startup is always a delicate balance of delivery speed and quality,” says Katherine Kroll, engineering manager. “I've seen many startups that err too far on the side of speed and the quality suffers, as you would expect. Mercury is different because leadership understands that erring on the side of quality actually makes you faster in the long haul.”
We reached out to women employees at Mercury to learn how this fresh perspective on startup work has impacted their experience on the job. These are the top three takeaways from those conversations. It turns out, slowing the pace ever so slightly to appreciate quality over quantity can equal a very, very good work environment.
With top scores for Paid Time Off, Ability to Telecommute, and Social Activities and Environment, Mercury is building banking for startups, and they believe supporting women comes in many forms, from investing in representation and career growth to celebrating self-expression and shared experiences. This company is remote-first, but they have offices in San Francisco, Portland, and New York City and a coworking space in Toronto. Click to learn more about Mercury's culture, InHerSight ratings, and open positions!
3 ways appreciating quality creates a positive, productive work environment at Mercury
1. People work better together
Appreciating quality at Mercury starts from the very beginning: the interview. “For engineers, many companies filter candidates early on by having them write code in a 15- or 20-minute call,” Kroll says. “Instead, one of the first calls that engineers have with Mercury is not one where the candidate writes code, but rather the candidate is asked to give constructive feedback on code that has already been written. This ensures that all of our engineers are able to approach a problem from a quality-first mindset.”
With everyone problem-solving with the same rigor from the start, employees say they feel empowered and safe to try and fail in order to find the best solution. “Experimenting, performing analyses outside the box, sharing, and excelling at our fundamental skills are really encouraged,” says Aarthi Subramanian, senior data scientist. “And we create a safe space for us to do this, ask questions, and maybe make mistakes so we can get better and share really high-quality work to our respective teams and stakeholders.”
Aurora Larrazolo, support learning and development specialist, says focus on quality has helped Mercury to develop a “trusting, transparent, and open” culture across teams. “I’ve collaborated with both the design and engineering teams to improve internal and customer facing processes,” she says. “Seeing my feedback actioned is a huge vote of confidence. Mercury doesn’t just say your input matters, but actually acts on it.”
2. Employees are motivated to defy expectations
Maybe it’s passion. Maybe it’s healthy competition. However you define it, Amaara Dhanji, social media manager, says their quality-focused culture inspires. “I think the biggest benefit of focusing so closely on quality as an entire company is that everyone is motivated to do and create great work for our customers,” Dhanji says. “We know how important customer experience is across all touch points of the product and brand, and focusing on quality ensures that all touch points are the best they can be, or are being consistently improved upon. It's part of our mission to make defying expectations a habit—if we can change the way people think about the industry, maybe we can inspire other startups and founders to do so as well.”
Quality also drives employees’ personal growth. Olivia Datta, sales development lead, says her manager helped her see the value of advocating for quality early on. “I immediately think of the coaching I received after my first 90 days from my manager,” Datta says. “Until then, I think I had the mindset that I don't know everything yet, so I was conscious of when I'd actually share opinions/thoughts in conversations. To be honest, I think I was overanalyzing everything I added to decisions. His feedback was to lean into my voice more as a lead on the team—to challenge things I feel passionate about and make sure I have an opinion (and not be afraid to share it!). This might have been the best piece of feedback I could get and aligns with the concept of defying expectations, maybe even breaking expectations to ensure we come up with the highest quality decisions possible for the team.”
3. The company has a strong foundation inside and out
“By focusing so closely on quality, Mercury provides quality experiences for both their employees and their customers,” says Frankie S., who was recently promoted to customer support lead. “This appreciation of quality shows that Mercury truly values a good foundation. A good foundation for their customers, their employees and their product.”
Jaira Walker, a member of the onboarding team, agrees. “I think the benefits of focusing on quality allows us to provide an exceptional product,” she says. “In a way, everyone at Mercury becomes a subject matter expert and is constantly focusing on how to continue improving and refining the product. This appreciation of quality shows that Mercury is dedicated to providing a unique and efficient experience for all its customers.”
That pride in what Mercurians do translates to a positive experience overall. Nina Gibian, onboarding manager, says it’s clear to her that employees genuinely enjoy working for the company. “The first thing I tell people when they ask, ‘what's your favorite thing about working at Mercury’ is that everyone here is committed to being here every day,” she says. “No matter what work or crisis arises, no one ever complains, no one ever feels ‘woe is me.’ This is super rare to find at a startup. The overall theme of quality brings us closer, like we're a part of something and working toward the same goal every day.”
