You’ve probably heard the commonly used phrase, “It’s the thought that counts.” But have you ever thought this way in terms of a company’s culture?
Sharlene Chiu has. In describing Notion’s culture, the software engineer chose the word “thoughtful” — a nod to the transparency and responsibility that defines employees’ day-to-day work.
“From product decisions to engineering processes, there’s an attention to detail that’s easy to take for granted,” Chiu said.
While “thoughtful” is the definition of Notion’s culture, Upgrade’s workplace hinges on its “collaborative” nature. According to Employee Engagement Program Manager April Bacsafra, the company’s team members work together to achieve business goals.
“At Upgrade, collaboration doesn’t mean relying on others to carry the weight; it means taking ownership while also showing up for your team,” she explained.
Meanwhile, at Mochi Health, a culture rooted in “grit” enables Head of Design Imran Sheikh and his colleagues to craft solutions with the potential to change people’s lives. He said that this focus on grit helps his team overcome “ambiguity, high stakes and tight deadlines” — all without sacrificing speed and quality.
As these companies continue to grow, each one is searching for more talented individuals to help cultivate the cultures that make them unique. Read on to see what else Chiu, Bacsafra and Sheikh had to say about how their employers’ cultures empower them to drive change and evolve in the process.
Notion enables teams to manage projects, calendars, roadmaps and more in one place.
Describe Notion’s culture in one word. What made you pick that word?
I always describe Notion as “thoughtful.” From product decisions to engineering processes, there’s an attention to detail that’s easy to take for granted. In particular, I find our company communications to be surprisingly transparent and responsible. Notion is a growing startup, so change comes in many forms, and I’ve been impressed with the way we handle evolving strategies and structure.
“Notion is a growing startup, so change comes in many forms, and I’ve been impressed with the way we handle evolving strategies and structure.”
For example, when a product area transferred ownership from my team to another, there was a multi-month collaborative effort to make sure the transition happened smoothly. Engineers hosted workshops, flew in for in-person pair programming and organized sprints to write more documentation and tests, which allowed the new team to gain knowledge with lots of guardrails in place before my team officially handed over ownership. There was plenty of emphasis from leadership that these knowledge transfers require time and care. Notion operates quickly, but I appreciate that we know when to slow down so that we can move fast over the long term.
How long have you been with Notion, and what professional growth or development have you seen in that time?
I’ve been at Notion for three years now. As a product, Notion can be complex, which means the bar for user empathy and cross-functional collaboration is noticeably higher here. Decisions in one product area can impact many others, and one of our greatest challenges is being able to offer this complexity to users in an intuitive way. Whether I’m leading a user interface change, improving product performance or proposing a joint project with another team, I’m continually developing strengths in uncovering hidden complexities and communicating decisions effectively to stakeholders. I find that no matter the project or engineering domain, investing in these skills has carried me far. I’m grateful that Notion’s culture encourages broad learning and provides plenty of opportunities to apply these skills in meaningful ways.
Upgrade is a fintech company that provides responsible credit and payment products.
Describe Upgrade’s culture in one word. What made you pick that word?
“Collaborative.” I chose this word because it reflects one of Upgrade’s core values, “Help,” which is deeply rooted in both our internal culture and our mission to help consumers achieve financial stability. Collaborative also connects with another one of our core values: “Own It.” At Upgrade, collaboration doesn’t mean relying on others to carry the weight; it means taking ownership while also showing up for your team.
“At Upgrade, collaboration doesn’t mean relying on others to carry the weight; it means taking ownership while also showing up for your team.”
A great example of this is in our bi-weekly team meetings where everyone shares what they’re working on. It creates a space to identify any areas where someone may need support, and team members regularly step in to help or offer input. It’s a great reflection of the supportive, high-ownership culture Upgrade promotes.
How long have you been with Upgrade, and what professional growth or development have you seen in that time?
I’ve been with Upgrade for three and a half years. I started as an office manager, which gave me the opportunity to understand the company, our culture and how cross-functional teams collaborate. That experience sparked my interest in the team member journey.
With the encouragement and support of my manager and team, I transitioned into a candidate experience coordinator role and, more recently, I was promoted to program manager of employee engagement. Each step in my journey has been driven by my passion for helping people and creating meaningful ways to enhance Upgrade team members’ experiences.
My favorite part of my role is working with our new hires and making sure they feel supported from day one. I understand that starting at a new company can be exciting but also a little overwhelming. I love being able to ease that transition and help create a welcoming, engaging start to their journey at Upgrade. Upgrade has consistently invested in my growth, and I’m proud to be part of a company that truly values development, ownership and making an impact.
Mochi Health supports individuals on their weight loss journey, offering access to virtual medicine and pharmaceutical treatments.
Describe Mochi Health’s culture in one word. What made you pick that word?
I picked “grit” because our team consistently pushes through ambiguity, high stakes and tight timelines without losing momentum or quality.
“I picked ‘grit’ because our team consistently pushes through ambiguity, high stakes and tight timelines without losing momentum or quality.”
What’s the coolest project you’ve worked on recently, and how did it help you grow professionally?
The coolest project I’ve worked on recently is launching our Refactor Web App, which helps patients manage their weight loss journey through provider support, daily logs, medication tracking and personalized insights. What made it exciting wasn’t just the feature scope, but the cross-functional intensity — design, data, engineering and care operations all worked in sync.
