Good company culture is really fascinating, but what comprises it?
Nerf guns? ping pong tables? Unlimited free snacks?
No. Its just one thing - a shared attitude.
One of my favorite books is called "Good to great" (by Jim Collins). Its a scientific look at how a few pretty good businesses, became amazing companies.
As a geek who went to school for business, one key point really struck a chord with me - "Get the right people on the bus".
Simply put, when building a company - you want to work with the right people in every sense of the word. They should make your quality of life better in general. This means beyond a skill set - they should be similarly motivated - and someone you would pick to be on your dodgeball team of life.
Every day I go to work with my friends. I am so fucking lucky it is ridiculous.
Shared attitude does not mean similar personalities.
I'm not saying people should be the same, or even similar - I'm speaking strictly about attitude. In my office, the ages range from 21 to 50+. And we're all friends. Everyone is super unique in their own right. But we're all on the same page - we're passionate about what we do, and we're happy to be doing it. We're striving for success as a team, rather than an individual. We're striving to be better as individuals, to increase productivity of our overall team. Thats what makes people excited to come to work. Thats what creates good company culture.
(disclaimer, we definitely have awesome nerf fights anyway)