Company Culture Spotlight: Unify G2M

Companies, especially startups, are no more than a collection of people - communities.

The word “company” is derived from two Latin words: “com,” which means together, and “panis,” which means bread. The original companies were merchants who came together to share stories and do business.

What separates great companies is the ability to recruit the best people and get them to work together effectively.

There’s a ton of business content about the best growth marketing strategies, tech and VC trends, and other business lessons. We want to highlight stories about the people behind companies.

First up: Unify.

The first company we’re highlighting is special. Unify was co-founded by Austin Hughes, a close friend and former co-worker, in January 2023. The company has been on a tear for the past 20 months.

We’re Unify customers, and they are using Marco to bring their growing team together this year in Scottsdale, AZ, in Q4 of this year.

About Unify:

Unify is an AI-powered startup that uses data to reach prospective buyers.

They pioneered the concept of “warm outbound,” which allows you to easily follow up with potential customers who have visited your websites or shown other intent.t

Unify is re-inventing the way traditional companies like Apollo.io and Outreach.io approach outreach.

Traction and customers:

Since its launch, Unify has gained the trust of hundreds of clients, including top revenue teams at companies like OpenPhone, Lattice, and Footprint.

The company has raised nearly $20 million in funding. Recently, Unify closed a $12 million Series A led by Emergence Capital and Thrive Capital. Additional investors include the OpenAI Startup Fund, Neo, Abstract, 20Sales, and AltCap.

How has Unify created such a high-performance culture and team in less than two years?

Through a focused investment in their team, culture, and values.

Unify’s team:

• Founders

  Austin Hughes, who previously led Ramp’s sales outbound program, and Connor Heggie, a former machine learning engineer at Scale AI, co-founded Unify. Together, they’ve scaled the team to 22 employees within the past year and continue to grow quickly.

• Distributed but In-Person Team Model

  Unify operates out of two main offices in NY and SF. This setup allows for regular in-person connection and collaboration, enhanced by quarterly gatherings at HQ or other locations.

• Team Connection

  At Unify, team members are not just colleagues—they’re friends. The team regularly organizes dinners, activities, and retreats to strengthen their bond. These gatherings are anchored around shared goals and a strong commitment to the company’s mission.

I’ve met several Unify team members. Each one has expressed how working at Unify is one of the most challenging yet rewarding experiences they've had—even within just a few months of starting.

Cultural Values & Principles:

Here are some core principles that we’ve seen Unify demonstrate:

• Commitment to company values:

  • Austin and Connor outlined their values in the first week of the company. This reminds me of Airbnb, whos founders did something similar.

• Always day 1:

  • Inspired by Austin’s time at Ramp, this value embodies a fresh, relentless drive every day. “While today is day 366 at Unify, it’s always day 1. Every day is an opportunity to move the business forward.”

• Individual empowerment and accountability:

  • Team members have clear goals and are empowered, regardless of tenure, to achieve them. When people start new roles, they are dropped into the role day 1 to get them up to speed quickly. “When you hold a bag, it changes your behavior and motivates you to execute differently.”

• Celebrate failures and learnings:

  • Fast-paced startups involve experimentation, and Unify embraces learning from failures to drive growth. “The best growth teams aren’t afraid to experiment, fail, and try again.”

• Prioritize and measure your efforts:

  • Every week, Unify’s growth team names their top 3-5 priorities in order of importance. “We expect each other to get those top 3 done.”

I can’t wait to follow along and see what Austin, Connor, and the rest of the Unify team can achieve!

Hopefully there are some helpful lessons here that you can take to your own team.

Best,

Suman Siva

CEO of Marco Experiences