Ever since our founding in 2011, HOVER has felt like a very different kind of company. Yes, the technology we’re working on is an important part of that. But there’s more. Even as our technology and our vision have evolved, one important aspect of who we are has stayed the same: our values.
We’re a fast-growth startup, and things are moving very quickly here. That’s why it was especially important for us to take the time to articulate our values: what is it that we believed in, and what we stand for? We got together and put those things in writing.
These are the values we’ve held from the beginning, and which will guide us no matter how fast or far we grow. They are integral to everything we do, and today we wanted to share them with you.
VALUE #1: THINK. Challenge the status quo.
“Ferociously arguing with one another while remaining friends is critical to the creation of new knowledge.” – Andy Grove
We are only as good as the questions we’re willing to ask, the debates we’re willing to have, the blind spots we’re willing to face. So we follow our curiosity, explore multiple perspectives, and uncover unexpected opportunities. We challenge and question each other precisely because we respect each other—and because we believe in what we’re building together.
VALUE #2: DO. Follow through, follow through, follow through.
“The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity.” – Amelia Earhart
Here, we get things done. We move. We go knowing that we can learn and adapt along the way. We are in the business of uncharted terrain, and most of us here are doing things for the very first time. That’s by design. And yes, we think—but then we move. We don’t get bogged down by indecision or paralyzed by overanalysis. We have a bias towards action. We make things happen in the face of uncertainty.
VALUE #3: SERVE. Rising tides lift all ships.
“It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.” – Harry Truman
Here, we serve. Our leaders serve their teams; our teams serve their team members; and we all serve our customers and the data they have entrusted us with. In this value, we remain humble and always remember that the person sitting to our right and the person sitting to our left is more important than we are. We understand that it’s the good we create—not the credit we get—that truly makes us great.
When we set out to write these values, we were articulating the things that were already there in each of us—the things that we never wanted to lose sight of. We know that as organizations grow, they inevitably evolve. We know we won’t be the same company in five years that we are now. Even today, we aren’t the same company we were when we started.
But we hope that one thing will always be the same: our values. We hope to continue to think, do, and serve for years to come. HOVER has built an amazing team of people so far, and this is the foundation that will guide as we face—and shape—our future.
