How to Build an Innovation Culture at Your Tech Startup

What do Post-It Notes, Flamin’ Hot Cheetos and 1-Click Amazon purchases have in common? Amazingly enough, they were all employee-driven innovations that became flagship brand products. 

I’ll be honest: not many companies today are cultivating this type of innovative mindset among their employees. While tech startups are known for thinking big, often these very same workplaces stifle innovative habits – and squander opportunities for ingenious new products or features. 

If you’re keen to kickstart innovation, here’s how I’ve witnessed tech startups create a successful culture of innovation that spurs creativity, excites employees and gets results that strengthen their core business. 

What Is a Culture of Innovation? 

Innovation is all about forming original concepts, methods or products. In the workplace, a culture of innovation supports employees as they think creatively and nurture ideas with big potential. 

For example, Google famously creates a culture of innovation by following the 80/20 rule for employee time, granting 80 percent for their main responsibilities and 20 percent for projects that could benefit Google. Often, these pet projects turn into popular services, such as Google News, AdSense and even Gmail. 

Why Tech Startups Need to Prioritize Innovation 

Unfortunately, most tech startups don’t have Google’s level of resources to build a culture of innovation. However, while the excuse of “no time, no money” is understandable, your tech brand will likely stagnate without investing in innovation. 

Having an innovation strategy in place can be used to drive quality for employees, stakeholders and customers. What’s more, it can lead to other competitive advantages, such as: 

● Creating original solutions 

● Improving efficiencies 

● Disrupting your niche 

● Becoming a thought-leader 

● Boosting brand awareness 

● Retaining your best employees

● Competing with larger, better-funded brands 

With these advantages in mind, creating a culture of innovation tends to pay off in the long term and should be a top priority in your business strategy. 

Challenges to Encouraging Innovation 

Of course, encouraging innovation isn’t easy. Tech managers know all too well the common “innovation killers” that startups face, such as: 

● Too focused on day-to-day activities 

● Limited time and already overwhelmed employees 

● Limited resources and funding 

● Lack of a corporate culture that encourages exploration 

● Failure to embrace technology and AI 

● Staying narrow-minded about entering new markets 

On the whole, employees aren’t afraid to fail, especially if it leads to important lessons and new discoveries. Yet, it’s vital that companies support them in these endeavors – starting with a strong culture of innovation. 

How Startups Can Build a Culture of Innovation 

Ready to bring your startup energy to innovation? At TECLA, I’ve seen firsthand how even low-budget tech startups have achieved a culture of innovation by focusing on their people power. Here are the main characteristics of building a culture of innovation. 

1. Encourage a Spirit of Collaboration 

Two heads are better than one, as the saying goes. Collaboration should be the core culture of any startup environment. Especially in remote workplaces, it’s essential that you encourage your teams to collaborate regularly and seamlessly. 

This involves not just leveraging key communication tools, but also hiring relationship-oriented managers, selecting cross-departmental liaisons, carving out time for judgment-free idea-sharing, encouraging mentorship programs and more. 

2. Consider Hiring Contract Workers if Your Team Is Stretched Thin 

If you feel that there’s no time for innovation at your tech startup, it’s likely a sign that your employees are already overwhelmed or burned out. 

Too often, well-meaning innovation initiatives become "120 percent time" for developers, forcing them to work overtime in order to innovate on top of their main responsibilities. It’s essential that you have a long-term strategy in place for filling out your tech teams, so that they have protected time to innovate. 

If your team is stretched thin, one good way is to hire remote contract workers. Not only will this prevent burnout, but you’ll enhance your team with diverse new hires. After all, diversity is great for boosting innovation on your teams, according to The Wall Street Journal and Harvard Business Review. 

3. Create a Culture of Care 

Building a culture of innovation can sometimes feel like an abstract concept, but it’s really all about empowering your people. 

When your employees feel valued, they’ll be more likely to go the extra mile to brainstorm new ideas, take ownership on projects and work passionately to create a final product. 

Harness this feeling by taking care of your employees first. Reward them when they do well and encourage them when they fail. Give them challenging projects to grow and offer them mental health days to keep their minds fresh. 

4. Reward New Ways of Thinking 

Innovative habits tend to lead to innovative ideas. Try to nurture new ways of thinking every day at your tech startup. 

Don’t shoot down “bad ideas” at meetings; instead, let employees create proposals for them. Rather than scolding a developer who spends all morning researching how to build a new type of feature, motivate them to take on a side project about this technology. 

Most importantly, encourage every individual to expand their mind and pursue their interests. This starts by giving them time to attend tech conferences, take new courses and prepare brown bag presentations. Even better, reward curious and creative professionals to build a culture of innovation! 

5. Embrace New Technologies 

Change is the only constant in life – and in the tech industry. Don’t get stuck doing business as you’ve always done it. 

Embrace new trends, technologies and working methods. Stay up-to-date in your industry niche and talk often with your expert peers. Allow your employees to think outside the box and test their ideas. Who knows: it may lead to exciting breakthroughs for your business.

Start Cultivating Innovation at Your Tech Startup 

Innovation is no longer a “nice-to-have” – it’s a must for any tech startup that aims to achieve competitive advantages, such as boosting brand awareness, improving efficiencies and retaining top developers. 

Ultimately, I’m convinced it comes down to how you shape a culture of innovation, which doesn’t have to be hugely expensive or time-consuming. Leverage these tips above to start cultivating innovation at your tech startup and get in touch with TECLA if you’re interested in recruiting diverse and creative-thinking developers from Latin America.