Keel

Although developer tools offer a vast range of possibilities, it is still difficult for businesses to build quality software. Doing so requires high level of commitment and complex engineering work that can often be time-consuming and costly.

• We trust each other - All relationships are built on trust, and so this is our root value. We’re building a team of immensely talented, smart and kind people, and we trust them from day one. Everyone at Keel should feel ownership of their work and a corresponding responsibility to give their best whilst here. A big part of our high trust environment is genuinely flexible working and non-working hours. We focus on outcomes and not output, and we trust our team to decide how and when to work best, including when to take time off. We know that some of the best thinking can happen while on a walk in the woods or when visiting the monkeys in the zoo. Take that walk. Go see the monkeys.
• We work in the open - People make better decisions when they have all the context, so we believe that wherever possible work should happen out in the open for all to see. We love doing demos, we share our work and our thoughts early and often, and we welcome comments and criticism. We use Slack to asynchronously keep others updated on what we’re doing, and we use Notion so that everyone can follow the evolution of our work.
• We succeed as a team - We root for each other and love to see others succeed. Our decisions and behaviours are driven by the pursuit of our collective success. When we find ourselves in front of an obstacle, we aim to stay positive and support each other until we find a way forward. When we find ourselves in conflict or disagreement, we don’t try to force our opinions on others, but rather listen and seek to understand their point of view. We respect the unique contribution of every team member and treat each other with tolerance and care.
• We tell stories - We believe one of the best ways to communicate is to tell a story. This might be the story of why we started Keel, the story behind a new feature, or a story about our customers. These narratives give us a shared understanding of where we’ve been and where we’re going. When we tell stories about the future we imagine a world that hasn’t happened yet and imagine our place in it. It’s through telling these stories, and attempting to bring them to life, that we will be truly innovative.
• We care about the details - Whatever we’re doing, we pay attention to the little things. Those small details that give something a sense of quality and show that love and care went into making it. This isn’t about perfection though but rather about seeing a Minimal *Lovable* Product as the bar for something being ready to go out into the world - whether that’s our Alpha product or new feature releases further down the road. We want Keel to be a great place to work, so we take the time to check in on our team mates. We invest time in getting to know each other as people, so that we can be there for each other when times are tough.