Meetup.com Corporate Culture Document

Our Culture

The people at Meetup HQ are led by a big idea.

We want to see the world’s people self-organize. We believe that
people can change their world, or the world by organizing themselves
into groups powerful enough to make a difference.

So what does this say about the kind of company we are?

Our vision is big and bold, even a little bit crazy. So how could we
ever follow convention? We won’t.

What we do is needed now. So how could we ever be slow and slipshod? We won’t.

We’re about real, face-to-face contact. The human scale. So why would
we ever slip into corporate-speak or corporate-do? We won’t.

We have a big vision. But let’s take our task seriously, not
ourselves. Let’s not be wide-eyed, humorless table-thumpers. Goofiness
go a long way to save us from ourselves.

We want the world’s people to self-organize. Decentralization is
fundamental to our worldview. So ‘command-control’ is not how we’ll
manage ourselves or engage with our customers.

And we’re about the power of groups. So why wouldn’t we collaborate,
share credit and act as a team. We will.

We get a little choked when people tell us how their lives have
changed. It’s hokey. But it’s good to be hokey.

Weirdly, we’re also cynical…but about ourselves and how good a job
we’re doing. We’re not cynical about our aspirations for the world, or
the members who will change it for the better.

We love that our members want to have fun…or fundamentally change
the world. Or both. We admire these people who tell their stories,
expose their vulnerabilities, fear that people think they’re freaks
(let’s remember that we’re all freaky one way or another).

We cheer this multitude of ordinary people who are crazy enough to
meet complete strangers and fearless enough to start a meetup. Never
underestimate or under value what it takes to do what they do.

We’re in this to change the world. We don’t just ‘do’ community
because it’s a good business. That means that we will scrutinize every
decision to ensure that we will make money only if we make more
successful meetups.

We’re a company that believes the company of others can change lives,
or the world, for the better. That means we want a meetup where and
when it’s needed.