My co-founder Philipp Berner and I are proud to be a part of the Founders For Change movement that launched this week. You can read the story behind it here.
We’ve signed a pledge that we believe in a more diverse and inclusive tech industry. That we’re dedicated to having a diverse team and board. And that when we have the choice of future investment partners, their firms’ own diversity will be an important consideration.
When we founded Keepsafe in 2012, we began our mission to make privacy and security simple. We were also passionate about building a diverse company that reflected our values: working nimbly to produce high quality software that’s constantly improving and always prioritizing team contributions over individual ones.
The research about diverse companies is unequivocal. Companies that have racial, ethnic and gender diversity perform better. When you’re building a company, you want every advantage to guarantee your success.
For us, recruiting a diverse team was a priority from day one. We knew that our earliest hires would set the tone for our company culture and recruiting efforts. We sought people (and still do) who could achieve great results while following key operating principles:
- Communicate openly, directly and respectfully
- Work hard and know when to recharge
- Own their impact
Today we’re proud to have a profitable company made up of people from fourteen nationalities and nearly 50% women. We have a global footprint with offices in San Francisco and Berlin, with colleagues all over the world.
As we’ve brought new people onto the team, we’ve offered them the unique opportunity to take Keepsafe for a “test drive” before they join. This gives recruits an opportunity to make sure they feel the company culture is welcoming to them even when it may appear differently on the surface.
We’ve also made an effort to create a full benefits package that’s inclusive of all life stages. We offer flexible time off, parental leave (for mothers and fathers, alike), childcare benefits, 401K, healthy lunches every day, cutting-edge equipment, and fun team outings.
We have more work to do and an ambitious road ahead. The world needs solutions that can truly help people protect their personal space online now more than ever. And the world needs companies that are committed to diversity, inclusion and equity. At Keepsafe, we aim to be both.
We’re building the team that will redefine privacy and we’re hiring!
