Our “why” - nth Venture
Discovering our “why”
Most of us have at some point in our career said, “why am I doing this?” One of the great luxuries at nth Venture is that we don’t have to avoid that question in a cynical bid to improve turnover. It’s front and center for us. At the onset, we make sure people have an answer so strong they’ll never forget it.
We will be covering the following 6 areas:
Realizing a dream.
Investing in oneself.
Building a new paradigm.
A culture of excellence.
A recipe for success.
Where we are and what’s next.
Collectively, we launched nth Venture because we saw an opportunity to improve on the traditional corporate work model in a meaningful way. We wanted to focus on what we love - building high-quality teams that create enormous value through serving others. That became the cornerstone of our purpose at nth Venture:
“Set talented people free through the power of ownership.”
Our purpose is not designed to be synonymous with each member of the team’s purpose; it’s designed to be harmonious and empowering of them.
Each member of our team joined us because they have an unquenchable fire in them to build something that is truly their own, something they can be proud of…from scratch. But that’s not the whole story.
We asked members of our team about their own “why” and their answers touched on a variety of inspirations, motivations and aspirations:
1. Realizing a dream.
“Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.” - Will Rogers
Complacency is not in our DNA. Our team is bound together by a desire to bring dreams to reality. Instead of asking “can I…?”; we ask “how do I…?” Suddenly, the conversation changes from “is this possible?” to “let’s make it happen…”
One of our teammates summed it up well when he said:
“...I have a strong belief in humans, and in the extraordinary output that talented individuals rallied behind a common vision can produce. Through my own experience, I have seen that when amazing people, products and processes are brought together effectively, there is literally no limit to what can be achieved. This formed part of the fabric of our vision for the studio and for nth Venture overall. We were aligned, and from there we went to work…Daily, I have been impressed with just how right that initial hypothesis was, and seeing these aligned people, products and processes become commercially successful businesses has been epic.”
2. Investing in oneself.
“By far the best investment you can make is in yourself” - Warren Buffett
nth Venture was built by and for people ready to invest in themselves. Our model is a complete reinvention of enterprise possibility. Together, our talents are a force multiplier. By bringing together the best and brightest, we unlock high-performing teams that get work done better, faster and more intelligently.
But don’t just take our word for it. Here are some of the musings from our team:
“I want a chasm of creative opportunity, I want to walk the edge and stand at the brink; I need a streamlined elite team, who seeks to disrupt, who, like me, is rocket-fueled, and within a structure where drive equals profit; I see new kind of loyalty, ownership, and investing in myself–that’s why I'm here.”
“I always wanted to be an entrepreneur, but there was always a reason I wouldn’t let myself do it. Risk, fear, impracticality, bad timing–whatever it was I never took the plunge. But I realized it’s time to invest in myself and see what I can do when all the traditional barriers are removed. With nth Venture, there is a unique alignment across our team where everyone is invested not only in ourselves, but also each other. There’s a professional camaraderie we have here that people spend their entire careers looking for, but may never find.”
3. Building a new paradigm.
“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” - Socrates
Another common thread across the team was a desire to break from the norms of the traditional workplace. Strip out politics, posturing and competition, and fully support one another to reach the greatest heights of success.
We’re not disrupting the status quo–we’ve deconstructed it and charted a new course. Our teammates say it best:
“...I wanted to declare professional independence and make the ideals of revolutionary capitalism a reality. All my professional life I have been told to conform and comply, to be like everyone else. Enough.”
“…to build a new way of working, to learn and grow with other like-minded entrepreneurs.”
“I’ve been navigating on my own for some time and was looking for an interesting team to join when...along came nth Venture. What a refreshing take and approach to business development, and I appreciate the free-range approach nth brings. I’m a fan of the organic and beyond excited to see a new approach brought forward. I feel like I’m completely part of this family and I’m just happy to be happy in business again. Here’s to more awesomeness from this ever-growing and evolving team!”
4. A culture of excellence.
“Smart people learn from everything and everyone, average people from their experiences, stupid people already have all the answers.” – Socrates
A lot of people say they have a “culture of excellence” at their company, but we actually walk the talk. Our radical alignment to results-based rewards sets us apart.
We crafted a dynamic team of industry experts and ex-corporate renegades who knew there was a better way to do business. Because the model rewards good work, not the appearance of good work, we can focus on expending energy on what matters so we can get to market faster and more powerfully, using best-in-class talent and technology.
Our team will tell you, the difference in our culture is palpable:
“At nth Venture, we get to work side-by-side with some of the smartest, most motivated people out there. Everyone is invested in each other, and cares about using time purposefully, so we can all be our best and feel good about everything we do.”
“What spurred me to join the team was multifaceted: First, the concept of having the ability to start up a first-class consulting practice with the support of a robust studio of professionals really got my interest and was meaningful. However, the most powerful reason that led me to come aboard was the character, competency and ingenuity of Sam Sawhook and the entire C-suite. The culture of the Studio is authentic and robust and it makes me feel good to contribute to such an amazing group of people.”
“I joined nth because I am super excited by the ‘studio’ concept, the opportunity to dabble in the venture capital world, and the opportunity to stand up a business that is surrounded with exceptional support by an amazing, talented and passionate team.”
“...I wanted to try something completely new and different. I knew that because the way nth is structured that everyone would be working towards the same goal.”
In addition to our purpose, our culture is built on three core leadership principles:
Integrity: We do what we say and say what we mean. We are ethical. We operate with an uncorrupted soundness of character.
Discipline: We get the job done with high fidelity, quality and intensity of purpose.
Acumen: We are great at what we do and are constantly learning how to improve.
In addition to articulating our purpose as an organization, these professional values clarify the principles upon which the company is based, and a set of criteria for how to:
Evaluate talent (internal or external) in terms of behavior and results.
Set clear tenets to guide company policies and processes.
Make tough judgment calls based on how consistent alternatives are/are not with our espoused values.
5. A recipe for success.
"Opportunities don't happen. You create them." - Chris Grosser
What we have built is a diverse team of dozens of leaders, thinkers and do-ers. We laugh, we have fun, we build amazing things together.
We’re proving that people no longer have to choose between going it alone and being part of the herd. We help entrepreneurs grapple with the unknowns of building a new company by providing them with the initial executive, operational and capital support to grow. You’ll hear us say it a lot, but it’s true–our venture studio creates and develops killer businesses like no one else can.
The process is actually quite simple, and we like to compare it to the ship-building process:
White Space Design: We start our journey in the design stage. This white space stage provides a map of the challenges, solutions, talent, products and services, initial target market, and is completed with a thorough operating plan or “blueprint” that is galvanized by extensive review.
Dry Dock Build: In the dry dock, we hit our build phase, creating the brand, platforms, products, prototypes, services, team and process design to hit the market ahead.
Wet Dock Test: At the wet dock stage, we bring our prototype to the market with a soft launch, testing our hypothesis, tightening up processes and operational readiness ahead of launch.
Anchor Up Launch: We launch our businesses and teams with tested and realistic routes to market, with a clear vision and mission including the support, guidance and communication needed to succeed.
Once the business launches out of the studio, it joins our operating fleet, where it has the deep ongoing support and opportunistic engagement of nth Venture.
For more on the model, check out this video of our CEO and co-founder, Sam Sawhook, as he explains how our studio is bending “the J Curve” to improve team agility and performance.
We can do this because every single one of our employees is an owner in their company–whether nth Venture or the business they are building. Equity grants are issued over a 10-year vesting period, incentivizing the creation of long-term value. Further, we believe that tying pay to hours worked is an unfortunate relic of the first industrial revolution. By compensating our people on a profit-sharing basis, we are continually incentivized to support–rather than exploit–our people and unlock the insane power of durable, high-performance teams.
No caps. No nonsense. Unlimited opportunity.
6. Where we are and what’s next. (*as of April 2022)
Our first studio ventures launched in our first months of operation – Audily, a full-service podcast and audiobook production company, and Falconer, a full-lifecycle investment boutique advisory partner. Both businesses are making an impact, taking on clients and turning a profit, despite being only a month out of the gate. If you ever wondered what it’s like to go from idea to concept to execution in a matter of weeks successfully (and, with a world-class team, no less), look no further. We told you, we get things done...
Our next two businesses are gearing up for launch: Merchant Boxes, a company that delivers premium customer experiences for brands through thoughtful, specialty packaging, and Stampede Commerce, an eCommerce rollup focused on leveling up small businesses that have found product-market fit through deep analytics and best-in-class marketing.
The portfolio is growing rapidly, but more importantly, it’s growing carefully. We are excited by the accomplishments and trajectory, but there’s much more story to tell.
In the meantime, please check out “The nth Venture” podcast, where our CEO and co-founder Sam Sawhook meets with founders straight from the grind for a candid conversation about their why, their how, what works, and lessons from the school of hard knocks. As an added bonus, you’ll get to meet some of our business presidents and hear how they got to where they are today.
You can also follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter, as well as use our free resources page on our website where we’ll be sharing updates, insights and more information about what makes nth Venture so special.
Want to join our team? We hardly ever bite. If you are interested in pushing the movement forward, reach out. We have a friendly and enthusiastic open door policy. Check out our career page here.