#34: People-First Approach in Building Great Companies. It's Not What You Think.
The uncomfortable truth about building great companies: you have to build great people first by holding them to standards they don't think they can meet.
You cannot build a great company without a great team. Common knowledge.
To build a great team, you first need to learn how to build great people. The sad truth is that people don’t want to be built, even those who will become great at some point.
The story of mankind goes like this: It took clay from Gaia, spit from Zeus, breath from Athena, and mastery of Prometheus to build the first people. Then we were given fire (curiosity), stolen by the same Prometheus. The complex nature of our creation, given the complexities of our creators has been passed down as the complex nature of our characters.
In the corporate world, this complexity of constant change and development under internal and external factors allows people to succeed and fail. It’s an ongoing process.
Businesses can only operate if the success ratio is higher than the failure ratio, so the majority of people in the organization should succeed.
Professional services → marketing → outreach are especially prone to and dependent on the success of people.
That’s why building teams and people is the core of the business model. If successful, you build a great company.
The Foundation Nobody Talks About
One of the main responsibilities of an agency owner is to instill values at the foundation level, what kind of people you want in your team.
These values eventually grow into company culture, which subsequently creates a shared code of conduct, mindset, and vibe in your organization. This forms the company atmosphere.
Here’s the thing: The longer the company operates, everything besides the atmosphere—the vibe—will fade away. People will treat the company based on this vibe. It’s something unspoken that everyone feels. Newcomers learn it in early days while oldies just get used to it and think it’s the only way of working.
You can be successful building this early on, but a few bad decisions and things could change.
I’ll share a few examples of my own through this newsletter. I’ve incorporated lots of personal stories and examples from Belkins to support my points, so buckle up, as this edition will be an interesting end to 2024 and hopefully set some of you up for success in the new year.
The Culture Evolution
At Belkins, we’ve worked hard to create a great company culture. Over the years though, it’s changed.
We’ve had great years where the feeling of camaraderie, growth, and success have been high. And we’ve had years where everyone’s been tired as fuck, feeling like nothing makes sense.
Early on, the best move you can make is to project the most comfortable way of working for you personally, then use it as guidelines for building the culture. This works better than following fancy books or, worst, your HR best practices.
For me and my partner Vlad, there were a few unchangeables:
1. Outcome-Based Work
The principle: It doesn’t matter where, when, or how you get the job done. No one’s tracking or following you. Doesn’t matter if you do it at 9am, 12pm, or 10pm.
What this created:
Remote work since 2017 - Offices were expensive, there was more work than 9-to-5 could handle, commute was a disaster, and we wanted to hire outside our location
Flexible hours - Too much work to track overtime. Don’t care if you finish in 4 hours or 10. Start at 9am or 12pm after a long night. Take a break for your son’s match. Just get it done within accepted timeframes
Performance compensation - We get paid when the company does well financially, so same incentive for people building it with us. Commissions and bonuses are core to comp structure
KPIs/metrics - Clearly defined metrics for each role, measured in real-time. Not just numbers to report—a key business system we can’t operate without
2. Problem-Solving Attitude
The principle: Every problem has a solution. You just need to find it.
What this created:
Everyone expects solutions, not just acknowledgment of problems
All problems should be solved, it’s everyone’s responsibility to find solutions
Repeating the same problem without finding a solution won’t cut it at Belkins
3. Fast Pace and Growth Environment
The principle: Things change, markets transform, clients need results yesterday. We move fast and make decisions on the go.
What this created:
Junior to Senior in 12 months of insane work
Broader knowledge spectrum, i.e. Account Managers know outreach, marketing, messaging, lead sourcing, strategy, CRM
On-the-spot decision making without approval chains
New ideas, tools, processes highly appreciated and expected
Lots of changes every week—controlled uncertainty to move the needle
4. Teamwork and Cross-Functional Collaboration
The principle: All roles move at the same speed and alignment. If someone falls off, everyone knows it, talks about it, supports them, but tolerating patterns doesn’t work.
What this created:
24/7 availability - People write in different timezones, you respond in yours
Open calendar - Book slots without pre-approval (but don’t BS meetings)
High-level communication - To the point, short, punchy, aligned, proactive, energetic. Default setting across all departments
Monthly all-hands - Speakers share revenue, KPIs, client stories, even bad decisions for reflection
Support/coaching - Everyone helps, from newcomers to oldies. Extensive knowledge sharing and personal coaching
If you read through this carefully, it’s a shit ton of really cool competencies that people have and do daily which makes them qualified and successful working with each other and clients.
Since most of this has been the default setting for Belkins, it’s easy for people to work together, everyone’s comfortable in this environment. Most of these traits are who my co-founder and I are, how we work with people, clients, and partners. It’s how we enjoy working.
If someone moves at a different pace, we don’t hit it off or fall apart after 1-2 years. That’s probably why out of 10 startups we co-founded during 2023-2025, only 5 succeeded. 50% failure rate.
The Dark Side We Rarely Talk About
While all of this is definitely positive, it’d be dumb of me not to acknowledge the more negative outcomes:
1. The Pressure Cooker
Lots of pressure to deliver is widely common at Belkins. Delivery should be ongoing, daily—you cannot simply drop the ball without harming someone or the entire team.
Our work with clients is tightly connected between all departments: sourcing leads, creating copy, booking meetings, creating strategy, implementing reporting, hiring SDRs, coaching, generating new business, closing deals. If anyone falls short, the entire organization feels it.
This requires a certain type of person who works great under pressure. Unfortunately, the majority of people aren’t there yet. That’s why it’s common for Belkins people to get tired in 1-2 years or feel burn out.
2. The Depth-Breadth Paradox
Multitasking while still expecting to go in depth with each unique task. We expect people to work on multiple things simultaneously, but surface-level won’t cut it, we need deep problem-solving.
Sometimes contradicting. Requires more time and energy. Means long working hours for some. Demands both quality AND volume.
3. The Uncertainty Tax
Ongoing changes and lots of new things create uncertainty for many people, which creates feelings of unsafety and anxiety.
4. The Freedom Burden
Freedom to work flexible hours from flexible locations while being available everywhere requires self-management and organization. Extra pressure to always make decisions and plan.
5. The Never-Ending Climb
After one mountain top, there’s another right after. Doesn’t allow people to celebrate wins, they’re starting right on the next mission. This motion puts mental pressure of not being able to relax. Next week, next month, next quarter, next year—you need to do even better. The cycle never stops.
Jensen Huang from Nvidia said in his recent Joe Rogan podcast that he still has anxiety today, anxiety of failing. Doesn’t matter if Nvidia had $10M, $1B, or now at $3 trillion valuation. He still feels the same level of anxiety, being afraid of failing and letting everyone down, opposed to seeking success. We share the same feeling at Belkins. It’s been 9 years like that constant fear of failure and letting everyone down.
I know, I know, these 5 items are crazy. But where did we get the information that it should be easy?
The Payoff
The reward for all of this:
No one complained about their success. I’ve kickstarted successful careers of almost all ex-Belkins. They go ahead to start their own agencies, become executives or managers, get headhunted by many companies. (Strange story: 2 of our competitors always hire all the people we let go. Over the years, these companies are equipped with ex-Belkins. Good for them!)
Everyone makes more money. Each is open to make more without a cap. Commission/bonuses based on performance and volume—you can make a great living and grow financially fast.
Work, travel, live. No one tells you how to live your life. Be free while providing for your family. No missed soccer at school. Travel to Bali, Caribbean, Spain.
People know how to get shit done. Period.
The Real People-First Approach
Building people in a corporate environment often means setting up high levels of expectations and keeping everyone accountable. It might be difficult on people early. Some will complain. You won’t be the most popular person in the office.
But it works. Your organization works. In time, people will be happy.
Many won’t acknowledge this, putting it as their own personal achievement. But as two need to tango, without the right environment and pressure, you cannot achieve finesse.
So this is the definition of people-first approach in building great companies: Creating an environment with the right amount of pressure, high levels of expectation as opportunity for people to grow, even though it’s difficult, unpopular, and seems like being a jackass.
The Unpopular Truth About Being People-First
There aren’t many examples from the past that highlight this point more than the story I’m about to share.
Early in Belkins days—probably when we were 3 years old—I wasn’t the most popular person in the office. My partner Vlad was. He always was good with people, making friends, listening. What I consider his best skill: providing an opportunity for people to show off or fail.
Opposite to him (which I think I also learned from him over the years), I wasn’t patient. If something wasn’t done like we agreed, or done poorly, I was on top of people providing constructive but harsh feedback.
I never went to extremes like calling names, but I could easily call out:
A badly written email
Poorly sourced leads
A not-very-good social post
A sales call handled not the way to represent me or our company
Since in early messy days there were lots of instances where I could provide such feedback, the entire office often saw me explaining lots of things to lots of people with a not-happy face. (Yep, I cannot play poker.)
Since early Belkins was a family-oriented business, we brought in people we knew to help build the company. As a result of my approach, I had a loud argument with one close-circle person who I had to fire.
Her argument was—and since it’s been a while, I don’t remember exactly—but something along the lines of: “Who do you think you are? Vlad is the only one doing something here, but you...”
The reason it’s important to put this story here: I’ve always been pro-people.
I just saw in them more than they were ready to commit to, then kept them accountable for these high standards. I wasn’t successful in all my tries, but the majority were.
And the company Belkins is still around, now considered one of the best in business.
That’s what people-oriented means in my opinion.
The Circle Back
Over the years, with experience comes lots of new qualities you learn from others. I’ve learned lots from all the people I worked with, it shaped me to have more patience, understanding, probably emotional intelligence and perspective to wear someone else’s shoes.
But more and more, I get back to where I started on my approach to building teams and people.
After 6 or 7 years, we let the reins go a little, me and my co-founder. We started relying on HR, company-wide surveys, what people wanted, who they wanted to hire.
A large project of sharing company-wide values was done in collaboration with the team who actually made their shots on “who they are/who we are.” Although it felt like professional companies shouldn’t always be built by just founders, the company long stopped being ours and belongs to people building it, thinking retrospectively, I feel like we dropped the ball.
Lots of core values and competencies we established early that allowed us to grow still hold ground. Meanwhile, new values introduced and incorporated by HR and the team haven’t been able to provide effective tools for Belkins to move to a new level.
In all crisis situations, everyone still looked to us for help or used the decisions we installed in early days.
Now we’ve made a circle, back to our roots, redefining Belkins back to who we are.
The Uncomfortable Mirror
After interviewing thousands of people, here’s a typical profile that the majority of candidates these days fall under:
More relaxed, don’t know how to work under pressure
Problem with self-organization and self-management
Ongoing need for new motivation
Problem with prioritizing in multitasking
Scratching surface or spending too much time going in depth
These aren’t the qualities important for building great professional companies, having successful careers, or establishing yourself as a leader. These are just excuses people tell themselves to feel comfortable answering: “Why don’t I have what I want?”
The Truth About People-First
The people-first approach is an unpopular, tiresome playbook that people hate early, but in years and success that comes, they’ll be grateful for.
You cannot build a great company because it’s easy, popular, or what people expect. No.
A great company can be built by idealists who can instill these values to as many people as possible, spreading like a virus. You won’t be understood. People will complain. Their immune system will reject you.
But in time, it becomes one of the best things that happened to them.
This, in my opinion, is conscious capitalism: Building great people → Great teams → Great companies → Great society
But the sequence starts with you.