Amazing Teams Podcast

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If your people can’t guess what the company’s core values are, how valid are they? 

It’s definitely a question that’s been knocked around at Rocket Money, the massively popular personal finance app. Their Head of People, Julie, and VP of Agentic Products, Aaron, took a different approach. They collaborated on a project that revealed what principles reflect Rocket Money’s actual workplace culture and employee experience. As it turns out, data really does supercharge conviction.  

“Most values projects are doomed because they focus on what we want to be true instead of what is true.”

–      Aaron

Key Takeaways

• Defining aspirational core values is fine when you’re founding a new company. One or two may even stick for the long haul.
• As companies grow, the values upheld must be recognizable and authentic to teams.
• You can’t make people value something, but you can share principles that help shape their approach.
• Starting with a few key principles can have greater impact and ensure everyone remembers them.
• Don’t cling to guiding principles. Keep analyzing and planning for what comes next in a rapidly changing workplace, especially if you’re remote-first.  

Timestamps

00:50 Julie and Aaron Introduce One Another

06:45 Post-Acquisition Values Confusion

09:00 Values vs. Principles

14:11 53 Interviews

17:50 What To Do With All That Data

20:41 The Three Principles

27:45 Goosebumps: The Big Reveal

30:21 What’s Next?

33:24 Five Tacos to Share

Key Topics Discussed

Amazing Teams, Una Japundza, Rocket Money, HeyTaco, company core values, workplace culture, peer recognition

Mentions

Website: https://rocketmoney.com/

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Want to show your team how to color-code their calendar during a grand old Zoom webinar? Stop. Don’t. From clearing the inbox to blocking out time, these can actually be one-on-one opportunities to build a better company culture.

Today, Sarah Russell is the Director of People Strategy Practice at 512Financial. However, her experience in tech and social work informs her unique view of the people function. In this episode, she shares her thoughts on everything from creating black belt-level Asana ninjas to decentralizing HR.

“Whatever seat you're in, you can probably help build efficiency or whatever you're naturally gifted at. It builds a lot of confidence shortly.” – Sarah Russell

Key Takeaways

• Including workplace efficiency in culture efforts frees up time for more productive exchanges.
• Gamification helps drive participation in efficiency-forward company culture building.
• HR departments shouldn’t shoulder all efforts. Decentralize it with peer input and coaching.
• Instead of long, strategically planned rollouts, unleash a concept and iterate on what works.

Timestamps

02:13 Meet Sarah Russell, Professional Generalist

06:27 The Belt System

12:45 Clearing the Inbox & Experimenting with Expectations

15:01 Cross-Functional Confidence & Efficiency Tips

18:44 HR Beyond Compliance

25:11 Increasing Workplace Efficiency with AI

27:36 Five Tacos to Share

Topics

Amazing Teams, Una Japundza, 512Financial, HeyTaco, Sarah Russell, company culture, workplace efficiency, gamification at work

Mentions

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahchristinerussell

https://512financial.com/

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Ahoy there, ye landlubber! How does your captain help you find your sea legs? Every pirate needs the chance to grow, even if it means eventually jumping ship.

Diego Lugli is the Director of Human Resources at Pirate Ship, where he does far more than help maintain the pirate-centric culture on the fully remote team of 200-plus. Pirate Shippers at every level enjoy massive career growth perks, from temporary lateral moves to peer mentorship. Memes, custom avatars, and tons of tacos probably have something to do with their very low turnover, too.

“If you can lay the foundation for developing talent internally when those roles do appear, you're going to have more internal options.”

–      Diego Lugli

Key Takeaways

• Some orgs reap huge benefits by going remote because they can change lives and nurture talent from far-flung places.
• Startup culture is the ideal setting to provide career growth opportunities, scaling everyone’s abilities up as the company grows.
• Special projects and lateral moves are successful when they’re confined to areas employees have a genuine interest in.
• Daily peer recognition, avatars, and Slack channels for fun chit-chat keep morale high on customer support teams.  

Timestamps

2:37 Ahoy, Diego! Lugli’s Voyage from Burnout to Pirate Ship

3:53 HR Department of One & Going Fully Remote

6:02 Kudos Cove: Peer Recognition at Pirate Ship

8:36 The Pirate Cadet Program

20:13 Low Turnover at a Company That Cares

26:33 The Poop Deck: A Deep Dive Into Team Pirate Culture

31:25 Upcoming: Scallywag Academy

34:11 Five Tacos to Share

Topics Discussed

Amazing Teams, Una Japundza, Pirate Ship, HeyTaco, Diego Lugli, peer recognition, career growth and development, remote teams

Mentions

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/diego-lugli-5465b022

Website: https://www.pirateship.com/

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Casino Night, Disney World, and custom jackets. Must be a fun, laid-back job.

Actually, this is a remote-first team of about 80 people, and three-quarters of them are high-performing engineers in tightly regulated spaces. Sam Reilley, VP of People and Culture at BSC Analytics, calls them the best of the best. Reilley’s done the research, and the most reliable way to build culture in this industry is continuous learning at work. In addition to certifications, her team is given every opportunity to become bona fide subject matter experts.

“People have to have that space to continue to grow, especially when you're in tech, and it is changing overnight. Creating a space where they have tools and resources to continue to do that is huge.”

–      Sam Reilley, BSC Analytics

Key Takeaways

• Tangible certifications are great, but learning and development should enhance overall expertise.
• Giving employees access to resources that further their careers inspires them to excel at the job they already have.
• Traditional team-building methods like trips, events, and swag help make growth milestones part of the company culture.
• Frequent check-ins and informal conversations alike are invaluable forms of workplace communication.

Timestamps

1:48 Meet Sam Reilley: From a Nonprofit in Ghana to BSC Analytics

7:38 Certs, Celebrations, & Lighting Talks: L&D for Engineers

11:59 Looking Beyond Certifications

15:13 Sam’s Shark Tank & a Very Vegas TacoCon

20:54 The All Five Club

23:41 Thought Leadership & Expanding Membership

32:21 Five Tacos to Share

Topics

Amazing Teams, Una Japundza, BSC Analytics, HeyTaco, Sam Reilley, company culture, learning and development, workplace communication

Mentions

Website: https://bscanalytics.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samreilley

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What does Justin Tsatsa recommend for engagement and employee connection in remote teams? Quality over quantity.

When he joined Fetch, one of the globe’s top shopping rewards apps, he had no idea we were mere weeks from a pandemic. Going remote-first and scaling exponentially transformed him from office manager to culture champion practically overnight. Tsatsa dove headfirst into a lot of the virtual team-building stuff you’ve probably tried. Today, he finds that more carefully selected impact events work best for his high-energy team, as well as recognition tools like HeyTaco.

“It just came down to the content that we put out and how impactful and meaningful the event is, not the amount that we're trying to do. It's okay if participation is low. It gives you a place to start.” – Justin Tsatsa

Key Takeaways

• Be wary of issues like Zoom fatigue and personal time when planning team-building events.
• Adding purpose and meaning to in-person and virtual events gives them more impact.
• Growth opportunities add value to teams, even if it empowers some people to move on to new roles.
• Keeping events voluntary is part of showing your team you trust them.
• Experimentation is important for company culture, even if it means circling back to something that didn’t work before.

Timestamps

1:14 Joining Fetch & Going Remote

2:43 The Trial & Error of Remote Team Building

4:32 Virtual Socializing & Events With Impact

6:12 The Team Meetup Playbook

10:37  Communication, Feedback, & Remote Operations

12:37 On Voluntary Activities & Trusting Your People

14:02 Sustaining Culture & Fostering Growth

18:05 Scaling a Remote Team: Justin’s Recipes for Success

25:32 Five Tacos to Share

Key Topics Discussed

Amazing Teams, Una Japundza, Justin Tsatsa, employee connection, remote teams, team building, company culture

Mentions

Website: https://fetch.com/

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When your customer is known as The Warfighter, it’s safe to say your company culture could use a dose of whimsy.

That’s why you’ll frequently find Michaela Flatau, Chief People Officer at Defense Unicorns, in a unicorn costume. As the defense technology company has grown to 200, it’s become more by-the-book with organization and transparency, but fun traditions keep morale high. Team rituals centered around giving and honest communication strengthen workplace trust. After all, if you want to say you hire the very best, you have to treat them as such.

“If you've already gone too far down the [corporate] path, you can't turn it around by suddenly having fun logos or costumes and things like that. You have to earn your employees’ trust as well.” – Michaela Flatau

Key Takeaways

• Revisiting and revising company culture is essential as teams grow.
• Leaders who value and protect the culture are a huge contributor to its success.
• Work-life balance and camaraderie help retain talent in stressful or heavy roles.
• Trusting employees with recognition is as key as trusting them to do a good job.
• Team rituals and social Slack channels drive participation and engagement on remote teams.

Timestamps

2:54 The Mission: About Defense Unicorns

6:54 The Evolution of Whimsy at Work

13:12 Introducing Transparency

15:26 Leadership’s Role in Company Culture

21:11 What’s With the Costume?

22:53 Tacopocalypse & Team Rituals

26:50 Building Authentic Workplace Trust

29:52 Five Tacos to Share

Key Topics Discussed

Amazing Teams, Una Japundza, Michaela Flatau, Defense Unicorns, HeyTaco, company culture, workplace trust, peer recognition

Mentions

Website: https://defenseunicorns.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaela-flatau

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Have you ever asked a question at work and once you got the answer, wished you hadn’t?

If so, you might not be the right fit on Martin Gourdeau’s team. He doesn’t do performative transparency in the workplace; it’s a true core value. Martin is the CEO of Vacation Tracker, a fully remote SaaS company with a team distributed across seven countries. He finds that being clear and candid about the status of a business is an effective method for building trust in teams, as well as driving performance.

“There's a way to be transparent and not doomy-gloomy. You can be factual, keep your heads up, stay positive, and have trust and confidence in the plan.”

–      Martin Gourdeau

Key Takeaways:

• True transparency can align people with purpose and improve outcomes.
• Leaders should be able to state the consequences of not meeting a goal.
• Being transparent helps organizations retain the people who are the best fit.
• If you want to introduce transparency in the workplace, start small.
• Invite tough questions. If you don’t know the answer, be sure to follow up.
• Teams can be held accountable for performance, but anything specific to one person is off-limits.

Timestamps:

00:31 Meet Martin, CEO of Vacation Tracker

01:33 Transparency & Energy Management at Vacation Tracker

03:51 Vacation Tracker’s Vacation Policy

04:55 Martin’s Intro to True Transparency at Work

11:57 Transparency Reveals Misalignment on Teams

15:23 Building & Maintaining Transparency

18:07 What Not to Share

20:26 How to Introduce More Transparency at Work

22:49 Transparency & Leadership Qualities

27:18 Getting Clear on Objectives & Priorities

28:27 How Transparency Translates Across Cultures

31:04 What’s Next for Vacation Tracker

32:52 Tacos to Share

Key Topics Discussed:

Amazing Teams, Una Japundza, Martin Gourdeau, transparency in the workplace, company core values, building trust in teams, workplace communication

Mentions:

Website: https://vacationtracker.io/

LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/mgourdeau

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Ever had an awkward time at a poorly attended Zoom mixer? It’s practically a rite of passage in remote work culture these days. 

Camilla Booth has felt your pain. Throughout her eight years as VP of People at Coder, she’s hosted everything from paint-and-sips to tarot card readers, but nothing stuck. All the while, Coder was exploding from a team of 20 to nearly 200. Camilla finally settled on an authentic startup culture driven by simplicity, Slack, and strict attention to surveys. Toss in a sprinkle of tinker, plush tacos, and an all-in CEO for a tight-knit team that somehow lives in 15 different countries.

“Meeting people from all over the world has probably been one of the more rewarding parts. I've been able to learn so much from other people because of their experience and culture.” – Camilla Booth

Key Takeaways:

• Don’t tell people what startup culture is; let the vibe emerge organically.
• Social Slack channels are more engaging than disruptive, complicated events.
• Convert skeptical leaders with hard data, and audit your processes more often.
• Kind messages saved from peer recognition channels soothe burns on bad days.
• Engagement rises when people drive the culture, not when leaders spend more money.

Timestamps:

00:15 Meet Coder, Camilla, & Their Fast-Growing Team

01: 32 Going Global & Investing in People

04:35 Organic Culture & the Power of Tinkering

08:15 Slack Channels, After Hours, & Employee Appreciation Week

12:16 The Trial & Error of Virtual Events

18:00 The Importance of Leadership Buy-In: Swaying Skeptics with Data

19:12 At Long Last, Events & Awards That Never Feel Forced

20:31 Knowing When to Pull the Plug

23:30 My Favorite Taco

24:30 Five Tacos to Share

Key Topics Discussed:

Amazing Teams, Una Japundza, Camilla Booth, remote work culture, startup culture, peer recognition, employee engagement

Mentions:

• Website: https://www.coder.com
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/camilla3
• Mentions: https://www.coder.com/careers

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What does it actually take to make people feel seen at work — and keep it going?

In this episode, Una from HeyTaco sits down with Sheena, a longtime culture builder and HeyTaco admin, to share what actually moved the needle for her team. Not theory. Real tactics, real stories, real results.

They walk through four pillars of building culture with peer recognition — Connection, Visibility, Engagement, and Culture — and for each one, they dig into the symptoms to watch for and the specific things you can do about them.

You'll hear how Sheena used core value hashtags to make company values something people actually did (and how she discovered two of their five values were never showing up), why bringing Taco Shoutouts into all-company meetings changed the whole energy in the room, and how a rotating Culture Club helped her keep recognition fresh for years.

If you've ever wondered how to get peer recognition off the ground — or how to make it feel meaningful again after the novelty wears off — this one's for you. 🌮

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To celebrate HeyTaco’s 10th birthday, Una sits down with HeyTaco founder Doug Dosberg for a heartfelt and hilarious trip down memory lane. In this special Taco Bytes episode, Doug shares 10 powerful lessons from a decade of building a gratitude-powered business—complete with taco costumes, customer stories, and Beyoncé GIFs.

If you’re a startup founder, team builder, or taco enthusiast, this one’s for you.

Highlights from the Episode

• The Big 1-0: Doug reflects on what it feels like to hit the 10-year mark and why it doesn’t feel like it’s been that long.
• Behind the List: How he went from “I don’t have any lessons” to “I have too many lessons.”
• Lesson Threads: The top 10 takeaways cover everything from building a bootstrapped SaaS to designing human-centered recognition.

Doug’s 10 Lessons for 10 Years

1. Building a business is hard — It takes time, patience, and the courage not to quit when things get tough.
2. Don’t do it for the money — Solving a real problem beats chasing revenue any day.
3. Work on a problem you actually feel — Doug built HeyTaco because he knew what it felt like to do meaningful work and feel invisible.
4. Your customers are the best investors you’ll ever have — He bootstrapped HeyTaco from day one, and never took outside funding.
5. Tools don’t create culture. People do. — A moving story about a team using tacos to lift up a teammate shows that culture lives in moments, not mechanics.
6. Customer service is the product — Doug still checks the support inbox. Listening to users fuels innovation.
7. Recognition works best when it’s imperfect — Typos, emojis, and awkward phrasing are features, not bugs.
8. Recognition is a leading indicator — Tacos often spike before major milestones (like a little ChatGPT launch 👀).
9. Recognition reveals what actually matters — Teams can reverse-engineer their real values by looking at what teammates thank each other for.
10. HeyTaco is just a vehicle — The mission is bigger: help people treat each other better and feel appreciated at work.

Also in This Episode

• Doug’s taco costume makes a triumphant return
• Una compares the HeyTaco dashboard to a football stadium noise meter (she’s not wrong)
• A spicy debate about AI vs. human support

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