Upsales Culture Playbook
This document is about people. What it feels like to work here, what we expect of each other, and who thrives alongside us. It’s not for everyone. That’s the point.
We compete against companies 100X our size. We’ll never out-hire them or outspend them. So we out-think them, out-care them, and out-run them. That shapes everything about how we work and who we hire.
David, Not Goliath
We’re a small team that punches way above its weight — because we’re obsessed with our customers, allergic to bureaucracy, and genuinely excited by hard problems. If that sounds exhausting, this probably isn’t the right place. If it sounds like exactly what you’ve been looking for, keep reading.
Our Values
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Move Fast and Get Shit Done
We beat the giants by being faster — deciding faster, shipping faster, learning faster. Decisions happen in hours, not weeks. You’ll have more autonomy here in your first month than most people get in years at a big company. A customer flags a problem on Monday; there’s a working solution by the end of the week. That’s not a story we tell — it’s a normal week.
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Take Extreme Ownership
If a customer has an issue and you receive it — it’s yours until it’s solved. You don’t forward it. You don’t wait. We call this being a “complete player.” If you’re an SE, you understand code. If you’re in sales, you know the product inside out. If you’re a leader, you’re in the details — not hiding behind status meetings. The people who thrive here don’t ask “whose job is this?” They figure it out.
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No Assholes Allowed
The best people here combine humility with intense drive — like a samurai, devoted to the craft, not their ego. Candid feedback is expected. Using “honesty” to humiliate or dominate gets you removed, regardless of talent. This matters because everything else depends on it: speed requires trust, ownership requires safety, and one toxic person poisons the whole team.
How You Grow Here
We don’t care how long you’ve been here, what’s on your resume, or where you went to school. We care about what you deliver, here, now. Ten months outperforming a ten-year veteran? We notice. No-name background but world-class output? Welcome. Real meritocracy is uncomfortable — and it’s the only fair system.
We offer the most generous training budget in the industry. But growth here isn’t a program — it’s the environment. You own real things from day one. The people around you raise the bar every day. Most people look back after a year and can’t believe how much better they’ve gotten.
What Matters Is What You Do
Our meritocracy is an inclusion model. When you strip away credential worship, tenure bias, and old-school networks — when you evaluate on results and nothing else — you create space for people who’d never get a fair shot in a traditional environment. We look for curiosity, drive, and ownership. Those don’t correlate with background. They correlate with hunger, grit, and talent.
We’re not perfect. Building genuine diversity in thought, background, and experience is ongoing work. But the “No Assholes” principle ensures the psychological safety that makes a high-intensity culture actually work for everyone.
Are You In?
People who thrive here read this and think: “Finally.” They want colleagues who push them. They take ownership without being asked. They’re humble enough to receive tough feedback and care enough to give it. They work hard because they’re building something that matters to them.
People who don’t read this and feel uncomfortable. They want clear boundaries, a steady pace, and a manager who tells them exactly what to do. There’s nothing wrong with that — this just isn’t the place for it.
About Upsales
Upsales is a bootstrapped company with big ambitions, known for our high-performing team, relentless curiosity, and a culture that challenges conventional thinking. From product to sales, we’re obsessed with creating real value for our customers and building software that actually moves the needle.