Dear Entrepreneur: Culture Isn’t Company Perks. It’s What Happens After 9pm.

Dear Entrepreneur,

It’s not the free coffee, the branded hoodies, or the Friday shoutouts.

Culture is who stays late to fix the mess.

It’s how your team handles tension, feedback, failure and each other when no one’s watching.

In a world obsessed with startup aesthetics neon signs, kombucha taps, and team retreats, it’s easy to confuse culture with perks. But let’s be real: culture isn’t what you post on your careers page. It’s what happens in the dark corners of a deadline, long after the office lights are supposed to be off.

Culture is who stays late to fix the mess.

Culture is Quiet

Culture is the engineer who messages the designer at 9:47pm, not to point fingers, but to say, “How can I help you get this done?” It’s the product manager who owns up to the bug that slipped through, instead of staying quiet or making excuses. It’s the founder who jumps into a late night call not to hover or control, but to listen, offer support, and be part of the team when it matters most. These moments don’t show up on LinkedIn or in company handbooks, but they’re what truly define a team. They’re felt in the way people show up for each other when things get tough, in the trust, the effort, and the unspoken understanding that we’re in it together, even when the day is supposed to be over.

Culture is What You Tolerate

You can say your company values transparency, but if leaders avoid tough conversations, the team will follow their lead. You can hang “ownership” posters on every wall, but if people get penalized for taking risks and making mistakes, they’ll stop trying. Culture isn’t something you announce. It’s something that shows up when things get hard. It’s revealed in how you respond when someone messes up, when feedback is uncomfortable, or when the numbers don’t look good. It’s in how people treat each other under pressure, not just when everything’s going smoothly in a meeting.

After 9pm, the Mask Comes Off

During the day, everyone’s playing the game. The calendar’s full, the Slack emojis are flowing, the status updates are on point.

But what about after 9pm, when the deadline’s slipping and a fire needs putting out?

Who’s on that call? Who takes responsibility? Who still shows up with care, even when they’re tired?

That’s culture.

It’s not about working late, burnout isn’t a badge of honor. It’s about who your team becomes under pressure. Whether they protect each other, blame each other, or quietly disappear.

You Can’t Fake Culture

Startups love optics. A "great culture" is easy to fake in the early days until things get real. It means if you want a strong culture, you have to build one, slowly and deliberately. Every day you try a little bit more, especially when no one’s looking.

That means:

• Hiring not just for skill, but for character.

• Calling out toxic behavior early, even if it comes from a high performer.

• Modeling the values you preach, even when it’s inconvenient.

Culture is a living system. It’s built in micro moments: who gets promoted, who gets cut slack, who gets heard. It’s the invisible language of your company, and it speaks loudest in the hard times.

In the end, don’t get caught up chasing the idea of culture but focusing on building the real thing. It doesn’t start with ping-pong tables or swag bags; it starts with showing up with integrity, leading with empathy, and communicating with clarity. And not just once, but consistently, until those values show up naturally in every late night decision, every honest conversation, and every quiet moment when no one’s watching. That’s when it matters most. That’s when culture becomes real.

Always have your back,

- Wildcats

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