“In my 20-plus years, I have never seen a document like it,” Emmalyn Shaw, managing partner at Flourish Ventures, said during TechCrunch Live. The episode was nearing the end, and Unit CEO and co-founder Itai Damti had just explained how the company’s long-running Culture and Values document helped pitch the company.
“I’d seen, obviously, high-level values in culture documents with bullet points and whatnot — but nothing to this level of specificity or commitment. … Of course, it expanded over time, but you get a real sense of how he’s planning to lead, particularly across two different headquarters and how Unit scales. I think it’s impressive. It’s important for [Flourish Ventures].”
Damti explained the document (embedded below).
“When we were just two people before we even knew what we would do, we sat down and wrote a half-page on the type of environment we wanted to build. The same Google Doc we started back then is the doc we use today, but it’s grown to 11 pages. It touches on many, many pieces of learning that we accumulated over time.”
Unit raised its Series A in 2020 when COVID prevented face-to-face meetings with investors. “It was important for us to give people a window into how we execute as a team, and this document gave them a chance to almost spend an hour in the office without being in the office with us. The best way to do it was to share what was then a seven- or eight-page book on culture and values.”
“This got us a lot of excitement from investors,” Damti said. “We do it because it’s important for the business. We do it to set expectations with employee candidates. And this is something constitutional in the company that drives how we execute. I also found that one of the cool byproducts was taking this asset and sharing it with people I know. Some people would keep it confidential. I was, like, ‘Investors should get a window into how the company thinks.’ And that’s always been important.”
This level of personal thought is evident throughout Unit’s slide deck. The founders know how to express their mission with clear and straightforward terms. Having a defined set of values likely helped.
This pitch deck features an unconventional format. First, the founders lead with themselves. The team slide is the third slide in the deck, presented even before the company’s solution to the problem. Why? Damti explained that he and co-founder Doron Somech felt the name recognition of their previous company didn’t align with the experience they earned. Unit still uses this deck to fundraise, and despite its growth and success, it still leads with the founders’ experiences.
“One of the things that bothered us starting [Unit] was, even though we had credentials, and we had experience running our previous fintech infrastructure company, that we co-founded in Israel, the company was not well known in Silicon Valley. And so when you approach investors with something that they see every day, and there’s an element that makes it a big part of the story, we wanted to lead with that element.
“It was important for us to state that our previous company took no VC funding, and it was a source of pride. Because bootstrapping a 160-people company, from two founders, at the age of 22, is a journey that takes time and tenacity. And that was the sort of summary of what we did at our previous company.”
Damti added, “I mean, people can’t ignore when two people say we co-founded a company, we spent a decade at that company. So there’s a substantial chapter in our history we’ve worked on before. And so you know, we’ve known each other for 18 years, we’ve been building for 15 out of those 18 years now, making that statement, in the beginning, was important for us.”
Shaw liked this approach. Because of the team’s accolades, she said, it makes sense to lead with the team slide.
“It’s not just that they’re incredibly seasoned,” she said, “That goes without saying. [The slide] shows they’ve worked together and committed to culture. And in a company like this with dual headquarters in the U.S. and Israel, they must have the ability to work together so closely.”
Shaw said she knew she wanted to invest in Unit from their first meeting. She said they checked all the right boxes, pointing to Unit’s co-founder who built their tech stack, the founder’s tenacity and the company’s go-to-market strategy that set them apart from competitors.
Shaw sits on Unit’s board, and it’s clear from the conversation Shaw and Damti have a great relationship. Disagreements are rare, they agreed. Still, Shaw advises on when an investor is looking for a different outcome.
“I think it’s important to understand that there is no definitive answer here,” Shaw said. “If it’s a point of conflict, it’s important to understand where the investor is coming from and what’s driving their concerns. Be open and share your perspective, and try to drive to give context or rationale for past decisions.
“At the end of the day, if there is truly a point of mutual respect, find common ground — if there’s common ground. Sometimes there isn’t, and that’s where I would find the best relationships across your board. Where do you feel that you have support? How do you get others to weigh in and provide insight to understand better what’s happening on the board?”
The entire episode is available for viewing here, though we could only make it through 11 slides in the deck. The company’s slide deck and Culture and Values document are also available here.
TechCrunch Live: Emmalyn Shaw (Flourish) + Itai Damti (Unit)
Unit’s Series A Pitch Deck (partially redacted)
Unit’s Value and Culture
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