Applied Life Lessons
Reason #3 is the opportunity to take what we've learned through life, work and school, apply it as an operator and build something bigger than ourselves. We've captured that in our mission, vision and values.
This is the 3rd of 3 posts in a short series pulling back the curtain about why we started Amari. We covered the first 2 reasons in previous posts, you can read more here.
I’m pretty fortunate to have been blessed with many educational opportunities and work experiences. While not knowing exactly where they would lead, I always felt like I was on the right road. Amari is the capstone project applying the skills, knowledge and network I've cultivated over the years.
One of my takeaways from working with start-ups for 10+ years, is that they undervalue their mission, vision and values.
For a tech company, it’s understandable these are not a priority where the Founders are trying to understand if the widget works and if anyone wants it. For consumer packaged goods (CPG), I always thought this was a lost opportunity to communicate who you are and what you stand for as a brand. The value set must resonate with your target customer. A key piece for any CPG company, young or old.
Amari articulated our mission, vision and values from the beginning. We wanted these principles to serve as our true north even though they would evolve along with the company.
The best advice we can give is to accept that the mission, vision, values will be a work in progress, more art than science and very hard to do. Especially for an early-stage company. Your challenge, as the entrepreneur, is preserving the core you know to be true while remaining flexible to how the outside world sees the company. All while creating engagement, conveying who you are and serving as a filter for decisions.
How did we start?
We set some goals (BHAG’s = Big Hairy Audacious Goals.) In full disclosure, these we're developed in parallel as all are interrelated.
These will change over time and we targeted clear, compelling and measurable goals.
Mission - Our Why
Our mission is why we exist and serves as the foundation for building the company.
Vision
Our vision is who want to be as a company.
Values
Our values reflect how we treat others and are the filter for decisions.
If you've actually read this far and are interested, I'm happy to provide any input as you develop your true north. Just email me.
My background
Prior to Amari, I spent 10+ years working with early-stage CPG companies and commercializing technology from a University setting. We leveraged a community-based model that put the best domain experts in the room with our client companies. I was fortunate enough to learn from those experiences and now apply those lessons as an operator.
