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Intempt

Culture

Our work principles

Five pillars that haven't changed in 5 years. Unlikely to change in the next 10.

Intempt is not for everyone. No organization can be for everyone. We need to be explicit about what we reward and what we don't.

These principles guide how we work day-to-day. They build on our Values and complement the Operational Principles that shape our remote structure.

0. Always start with a beginner's mind

A concept from Zen Buddhism. Approach every problem with fresh eyes, even if you've solved something similar before. Declutter your thinking and dispose of assumptions. The expert's trap is thinking you already know.

1. Put the customer at the center

Solve customer problems, period. Not short-term wins. Not competitor responses. Not internal politics. If it doesn't make the customer's life better, question why you're doing it.

2. Create a culture of respect and trust

When a problem happens, go directly to the person who can fix it. Celebrate wins publicly. Respect different opinions. Trust is built in drops and lost in buckets.

3. Practice extreme ownership

Own your results, both successes and failures. Never point the finger. Understand the mission and believe in it. If something goes wrong on your watch, it's yours to fix.

4. Have a bias for action and deliver daily

Ship daily. Not just software. Ideas, decisions, feedback, progress. Make things happen before they're perfect. Break projects into small daily wins that compound.

5. Seek feedback, not consensus

Consensus creates average ideas. Don't vote on ideas. Get input from the right people, then decide. Validate with customers instead of committees.

6. Push for high standards

Standards should make us uncomfortable. If they feel easy, they're too low. Apply high standards to everything: code, design, writing, communication, hiring. Our Engineering Principles spell this out for technical work.

7. Stay scrappy

No entitlement. Work like we have something to prove, because we do. Creativity and resourcefulness matter more than means. Do more with less.

8. Be a curious learning machine

Maintain the spirit of learning. Be both student and teacher. You can't get stuck in your ways. The moment you stop learning, you start falling behind. Check our Learning & Development page for the resources we provide.

High performance

We take inspiration from Netflix's “No Rules Rules” philosophy. The team is a sports team, not a family. Everyone earns their spot through performance and contribution. We keep the bar high because that's what makes working here worth it.

Owning your career

Nobody manages your career but you. Be self-motivated. Don't wait for direction. Act like a leader regardless of your title. Identify what needs doing and do it. Growth comes from taking ownership, not from waiting for a promotion cycle. See Growth Expectations for how we think about levels.

Rituals

  • Monday Metrics: start the week aligned on numbers that matter.
  • Friday Show & Tell: demo what you shipped. No slides, real work.
  • All-company meetings: regular cadence, full transparency on direction and results.

Equity

9%
EBIT profit sharingDistributed equally across the team every quarter

No VC. We're building a sustainable company. Profit sharing at 9% of EBIT, distributed to the team. When the company wins, everyone wins. Aligned incentives, not lottery tickets. More on how we think about pay in our Salary and Compensation pages.

Work Principles | Intempt Handbook