Back in 2017, we set out to enable organisations to thrive ethically and responsibly with smart and safe synthetic data. Since then, we have been building our product, whilst also dedicating a significant part of our time to creating blog posts, podcasts, and tutorials that enable our users to make the most of it. After all, "a tool is only as good as its users." To say that our messaging, the format of our messages, and the senders of these messages are diverse would be an understatement.
On Monday, we learn about data simulation from our AI & Machine Learning Product Owner.
On Tuesday, we hear about insurance innovation by our Head of Customer Experience.
By Wednesday, we are excited about synthetic data use cases beyond privacy.
Come Friday, our Legal Counsel will guide you through the EU's AI Act , how it was born, and how it will come into effect.
Our content is like a cake salad: so delicious much variety!, so many possibilities of customization!, so rich! Just pick the ingredient(s)/topic(s) you like the most and indulge yourself—no guilty pleasures attached.
To say that we were proud of our product and the content surrounding it would be an understatement. That was until we realized something was missing. 🤦🏽♂️
While we were making a tremendous amount of information available to everyone in the company through our open feedback culture, monthly OKRs, and reporting, we noticed that when it came to speaking to our community, we were only showcasing the final result, our product. We weren't publicly sharing — which is not the same as hiding — the backbone that defines us: our culture.
It’s not just about us 👋🏽
MOSTLY AI is more than just the fearless folks researching, designing, coding, promoting, and selling it. It also belongs to all those who believe data should empower all data consumers to build a smarter and fairer future together for the benefit of everyone. If we want Sarah (a Data Science student in Nigeria), Robin (an Innovation Champion in a Canadian bank), and Sam and Ezra (Machine Learning Engineers in American and Dutch enterprises) to be part of this community and help us democratize access to data, we think it's only fair that you get to know us better.
Plus, we're growing our team. Just as we appreciate the chance to review a CV and prepare in advance, we believe applicants should have the same opportunity. We recognize that applying for or accepting a new job is a leap of faith, but we aim to make future "Mostlies" feel comfortable and excited to apply. They should understand more about our company and culture beyond just the job description.
While we can't really take you on a date—that sort of relationship is better suited for Joaquin Phoenix in "Her"—we've decided to make our employee handbook public and accessible to all. Dive in and explore our core values, our approach to remote work, communication methods, perks, commitment to diversity, and everything that defines MOSTLY AI. It's our way of promoting openness and trust within our community, and we are as excited about it as a traveler is about exploring a new destination.
Note: While we advocate for transparency, we do protect information when legally required or when it's not entirely ours to disclose.
But this journey is also about us and who we want to be 🔜
Our handbook doesn't just define who we are now; it outlines who we aspire to be in the future. We believe in the power of transparency as a means to build trust, hold ourselves accountable, and propel our community forward. We don't have hundreds and thousands of wordy pages of policies and procedures that nobody reads. Instead, we have straightforward guidelines that Mostlies can use as a starting point and to complement one of our beloved principles: use common sense and make a fair/good judgment.
A public handbook not only reflects our identity but also helps solidify our aspirations. Being editable, everyone can contribute, enriching the document with their experiences.
Having a public handbook also gives us a chance to reflect on who we actually are as a company, what we stand for, and how we should work. Writing about it in the handbook makes these aspirations more tangible and, equally important, editable because everyone is able to contribute to this living, breathing document with their experiences.
We love synthetic, not static 👷🏽
As there’s always room for improvement (except for dogs, who are perfect as they are), we are comfortable with its imperfections because that means we can make it better together. And by that, we don’t mean updating misspellings or reflecting team changes in the org chart, but actually:
- From employees:
- pointing out when we write that we are about ABC, but in reality we're doing XYZ;
- flagging that something is assuming an ideal-case scenario rather than the real-world;
- noticing that something important is missing;
- From employees and everyone in our community:
- simply bringing in new ideas. Insights from different perspectives can help us identify blind spots, areas for improvement, and innovative solutions that might not have surfaced otherwise.
As we embark on this journey, we are excited about the potential benefits it holds for MOSTLY AI, our Mostlies, and the community at large. So please go ahead and explore it, soak in the startup spirit, and if you have any burning questions or just want to say "hi," please do drop us a line. We welcome and cherish your feedback!
Our employee handbook is a dashboard for everyone interested in seeing everything that makes MOSTLY AI tick. Do you want to take a peek inside? Come in, we are open.
