Discoveries #20 | The Best Company Cultures Should Feel Like Cults
Welcome to Edition 20 of Discoveries where I share inspiration on design, product building, and what's next.
The Best Company Cultures Should Feel Like Cults
Building a startup is basically like trying to start a fire in a hurricane.
Everything is conspiring to kill your company: competition, entrenched incumbents, lack of investor interest, lawsuits, internal drama, and, of course, the ever-fickle “will users actually pay for this?” question.
But every once in a while, a company not only survives, it thrives. And more often than not, the reason isn’t the product, the funding, or the strategy. It’s the culture.
I’m not talking about the “we have cold brew on tap” or “our founder occasionally joins the team happy hour” type of culture.
I’m talking about the kind of culture that feels like a cult, where people are all in. Where the mission becomes oxygen.
The Power (and Beauty) of the Cult
When you get culture right, it’s like you’ve tapped into a source of irrational energy.
People work harder, care deeper, and show up for each other in a way that transcends job descriptions.
I’ve had friends who were early employees at Airbnb, Nest, and OpenAI. Every one of them described the same phenomenon: their company felt a little cultish. But in a good way.
Think about Airbnb in the early days. Employees literally slept on air mattresses while building a platform named after one. Their belief in “belonging anywhere” wasn’t just a slogan, it was a shared religion.
Or early Apple. The team called themselves pirates inside a giant corporate navy, proudly wearing skull-and-crossbones pins as they built the Mac.
Or SpaceX, where people routinely pull 18-hour shifts because they genuinely believe they’re helping humanity become multi-planetary. That’s not just culture. That’s devotion.
Even Patagonia has its own version of this. A cult of conscience. Employees there don’t just work for a company. They live a lifestyle that blurs the line between brand and belief.
Why It Works
Everyone wants to feel like they’re part of something bigger than themselves.
It’s hardwired into our DNA, the tribe instinct.
People want to feel like their work matters, that they’re helping move humanity forward in some way, even if it’s one Slack message, design sprint, or customer call at a time.
When you’re building a startup, you’re the underdog. You’re scrappy, small, and maybe a little unhinged, and that’s exactly why it works.
That shared struggle is what forges unity. You’re proving you can build something out of nothing. Together.
At BoomPop, Our Flavor of the Cult
We have our own silly traditions that outsiders might find questionable.
Our Slack workspace is basically a chaotic public square of shoutouts, debates, wild ideas, issues to solve, and… dog photos.
My favorite corner is the “sales wins” channel, where every new deal sets off a wave of emojis, gifs, and pure chaos.
Most weeks, someone inevitably starts a chant. (Yes, a chant. Over Slack.)
New hires are understandably confused at first. “Is this normal?” they ask.
Two weeks later, they’re leading the chants. Unhinged, and loving it.
Side note: one of our clients recently gathered for a retreat and the entire team got tattoos of their company logo. Real ones. That’s next-level cult energy.
My Advice to Founders: Lean Into the Weird
If you’re building an early-stage company, here’s the secret: Lean into the weirdness.
Start silly traditions. Encourage inside jokes. Make your Slack a chaotic, joyful place.
Hire people who aren’t just qualified, but who want to go all in on the mission, who get a twinkle in their eye when they talk about the company.
Because when things get hard (and they will), you’ll need that shared sense of belonging, that irrational loyalty, to push through.
The truth is, great companies aren’t built despite their weird, cult-like tendencies. They’re built because of them.
Product Inspiration
This startup is reimagining how America builds nuclear reactors.
The U.S. is in a tough spot, retiring hundreds of coal plants just as energy demand is exploding, largely driven by AI and electrification.
Meanwhile, only two nuclear plants have been built here in the last 30 years. For comparison, China has 56 operating reactors and 27 more on the way.
If the U.S. wants to stay competitive and keep the lights on in the AI era, it needs to master the art of building nuclear faster.
What I'm Reading
Stefan Sagmeister put together a mini-FAQ of his thoughts on life, design, and everything in between.
It’s concise, honest, and very Sagmeister. The “Why Beauty Matters” section especially hit home — definitely worth the 2-minute read.
Other Finds
Have a great week,
Blake
P.S. I'm always looking for feedback. Reply and let me know what you think! (I reply to every email)
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